Ramos looking to end his raw deal

Ramos's team face Polish champions Wisla Krakow in the first round of the UEFA Cup won twice by the Spaniard at Sevilla in 2006 and 2007.

Levy's decision to sack the popular Martin Jol and appoint Ramos seemed to have paid off when the Spaniard led the side to the Carling Cup in February, their first trophy for nine years.

But Ramos is nothing like as effective in the Premier League, as just three League wins since that Wembley win over Chelsea demonstrate.

The cards seem to be stacked against the manager. Spurs are bottom; leading strikers Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov have been sold; main transfer target Andrei Arshavin unsigned; Darren Bent continues to struggle in front of goal; Ledley King is still missing more games than he plays and new signing Luca Modric is out injured.

Ramos, then, must hope that his team come alive in the UEFA Cup, after they were eliminated on penalties by PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 of last season's competition. The 53-year-old said: "We want to win all the games, but it is hard to finish above Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool over 38 matches.

"In the cup competitions, you can win far fewer matches, and still win a trophy, so this is easier. We need to start at the beginning again. Last season, we played with Berbatov and Keane as the regular forwards, but now they have left the club. We need to understand this situation, which is a new one for the team and all the players."

Ramos took the questionable decision to leave Jermaine Jenas, Giovani dos Santos and David Bentley out of the starting XI for Monday's 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa.

All three players are expected to be restored tonight, although Spurs will be without defender Vedran Corluka and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who are cup-tied, as well as midfielder Modric.

Pavlyuchenko's situation, in particular, is a worry for Spurs. The early rounds of the UEFA Cup would have been the ideal environment for the £14million signing from Spartak Moscow to find his feet, but he cannot do so having already played for his former club in the Champions League preliminary-rounds. Pavlyuchenko's ineligibility piles more pressure on first-choice striker Darren Bent, leaving sporting director Damien Comolli to lament the failure to sign "another experienced striker" before the transfer window closed.

Earlier this week, Comolli said: "I am disappointed that we were unable to make one additional signing, another experienced striker. The deal was agreed but fell through in the final moments due to agent activity."

King is, at least, likely to return as Ramos' team seek to establish a commanding lead ahead of the second leg in Krakow in two weeks' time.

Time and patience will be in even shorter supply if his team do not beat Wisla convincingly, tonight and Ramos may discover the cards he has been dealt are stacked even more against him.