Brad Friedel says Andre Villas-Boas did not lose the dressing room at Tottenham

CONTRARY to reports, Spurs players say Andre Villas-Boas did not lose the dressing room at Tottenham before the axe.

BRAD Friedel has insisted that Andre Villas-Boas did not lose the dressing room at Tottenham Hotspur, while captain Michael Dawson says the whole team must take responsibility for the poor results that cost AVB his job.

Villas-Boas was fired on Monday following Spurs' 5-0 demolition at home by Liverpool with some reports claiming that he no longer enjoyed the support of the squad.

But speaking on American TV show FOX Soccer Daily, Friedel insists the players were fully behind the Portuguese coach.

"I think all the players in the changing room really wanted things to work out for Andre," the veteran goalkeeper said.

"From day one that he came to the club, (he had an) open door policy, very good communication with the players. None of us were happy to see him go.

"We still have to continue to have a very good team spirit, which I know we will.

"We have a lot of quality in the changing room.

"I'm sure the board are going to be hiring a very good manager to take us forward, who the players will all be behind again, because, at the end of the day, we are employed by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, not by the manager they're bringing in.

"We just have to try to adhere to all of his ideas and try to get results for the football club."

In his programme notes prior to Wednesday night's Capital One Cup quarter-final with West Ham, he wrote: "It's been a difficult few days for all of us, what with the result here against Liverpool followed by Andre's departure.

Tottenham Hotspur's British interim head coach Tim Sherwood.

"He was well liked in the dressing room and would always want things to work out, but it just wasn't meant to be. We wish him well.

"I know Andre came out after our heavy defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool and said that he took full responsibility, but when the team on the pitch loses in that fashion, the players have to stand up and realise ourselves that the performances haven't been acceptable.

"Those results were painful, the way we lost and the goals we conceded.

"As a defender and as captain of this club, I look at myself first, but all players have to take responsibility for what has happened.

"The lads were devastated after Sunday's game, of course. Losing any football match is disappointing, it happens to every team.

"But to lose 5-0 at home and 6-0 at City is not good enough. All I can do is apologise to those who turned out to support us."

Tim Sherwood has since been placed in caretaker charge and hopes he can encourage an immediate impact, starting with the visit of West Ham to White Hart Lane in the Capital One Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night.

Technical director Sherwood takes charge of the first team for the first time hoping to show he is a long-term candidate to succeed Villas-Boas.

The former Spurs captain is eager for his side to show their quality against the Hammers, who beat Spurs 3-0 in the Premier League in October in one of a number of results which resulted in Villas-Boas' sacking.

"When you lose your manager, it's a change and you've got to listen to a different voice, but I'm hoping to get a few messages across in a short space of time so we can get a positive result against West Ham," Sherwood told Spurs TV.

"It's a huge game, especially on the back of what they did to us at the Lane. It was disappointing.

"We have to get out there on the front foot and we have to impose ourselves on them as soon as we can during the game."

Former England bosses Fabio Capello, Glenn Hoddle and Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino have emerged as contenders for the vacant position in north London but Swiss side FC Basel have denied claims that Tottenham have contacted them about their coach Murat Yakin.

But Englishman Sherwood hopes West Ham will be distracted from the cup trip by the need to preserve their top-flight status, but is fearful following the reverse on October 6.

"Hopefully they've got their concentration on Premier League safety rather than the cup tomorrow night," he added.

"We have to be patient. They got bodies behind the ball and tried to catch us on the counter-attack.

"We're aware of that. Let's just hope we can impose ourselves on them nice and early, get the crowd behind us and really be up and at them."

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