"You try to do your best and work hard but at the end of the day, there was no chance to do any better because of all the things that happened during the season.
"It is a relief for everybody at Tottenham that the season is nearly finished. We didn't talk a lot about the managerial situation but it was in our life day in and day out. Wherever you went the fans would ask you about the manager - 'is he going to be English, foreign or British'?
"In all my time as a player I never had a caretaker manager for more than a month but we had one for eight months."
Poyet insists only a big name manager can turn the club's fortunes around. Italian national coach Giovanni Trapattoni has ruled himself out of the running with Martin O'Neill still understoodto be the club's No1 target. Poyet added: "I would like to see a big name - a winner. Somebody who has been at a big club before coming here. It would show the supporters they are looking to do something really big."
Meanwhile, Spurs will complete the £2million signing of Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson early next week. But the deal, which collapsed during January's transfer window, has already enraged fans of the Yorkshire club.
Robinson, 24, will agree a £25,000-a-week deal at White Hart Lane - an increase of around £3,000-aweek on his Leeds contract. But Leeds Supporters' Trust chairman John Boocock branded the sale as "pathetic".
Spurs are understood to have told Leeds to omit the player from the side to face Chelsea on Saturday because they do not want to risk him getting injured.
Spurs had a £2m bid for Robinson accepted by Leeds on the final day of the January transfer window but the move fell through because the Premier League would not sanction the Tottenham plan to pay Leeds for Robinson and then loan him back for the rest of the season.
Leeds chairman Gerald Krasner admitted: "We are in advanced talks but nothing is signed, sealed or delivered. Tottenham have expressed an interest, and put forward a figure but we cannot complete any deal at this stage. We hope to do that early next week."
