Ginola feels James' wrath

But he still emerged afterwards with a beaming smile to shake hands and sign autographs and even found time to stop and predict a brighter future for his old club.

While refusing to be drawn on the subject of a possible return to Tottenham, he said: 'I would like to thank the supporters. I have never heard anything like what I heard today. As you get older, you become more sensitive about the things you have left behind in your life.

'I think the club will be stronger next season. Results should improve. It's not right that a club like this should end a season with no cups or trophies.'

Those who watch Tottenham regularly are aware that, in all likelihood, it will be sometime before the club are ready to reclaim a place at the top of the Premiership and the fact that home supporters cheered Ginola with such fervour indicates just how desperate they have become for thrills.

Oyvind Leonhardsen suggested afterwards that the crowd would have cheered a Ginola goal , so keen were they to see something drag this goalless game from the gutter. And he was only half joking.

As for Villa, their problems remain constant. The simple fact is that manager John Gregory will never take his team any further until he finds a centre forward.

Defensively, the Midlands club are as sound as ever and although they lack a passer of the highest quality in the centre of the field, the enduring talents of Paul Merson remain.

Most of this counts for nothing, however, when play enters the final third.

Dion Dublin, sadly, is a shadow of the player he was prior to the neck injury that almost paralysed him 18 months ago while Julian Joachim and Darius Vassell continue to appear short of genuine Premiership quality.

If Colombia striker Juan Pablo Angel can recover from his personal woes to prove the answer at Villa Park next season, they will cheer him so loudly even Ginola might be impressed.

Such was the poor quality of the game between two sides with nothing to play for, there was barely a noteworthy effort on goal.

Spurs enjoyed the better of the opening half but a pair of tame headers from Les Ferdinand were the closest they came to beating James.

In the second half, Villa found some rhythm through the mid-field and, driven by the excellent George Boateng, they looked the likely winners. Merson drove a good opportunity at Neil Sullivan with 20 minutes left and Vassell looked set to score the winner only to see his follow-up shot blocked on the line by Luke Young.