Sir Alex Ferguson feels Martin Jol is probably relieved his tortuous time as Tottenham manager has finally come to an end.
Ferguson interviewed Jol for a job as his assistant at Manchester United, having been impressed by the work he had done in his native Holland at RKC Waalwijk.
Ferguson was as saddened as anybody when Jol's exit was confirmed on Thursday.
However, having been subjected to the "drip, drip, drip effect" of speculation over his tenure, Ferguson feels his old rival might be glad it is all over.
"Martin has great qualities," said Ferguson.
"He is a decent man who has showed his integrity but he is probably relieved it is all over. I don't know the full ins and outs but we have all witnessed a drip, drip, drip effect right from the start of the season when there was talk of the people from Tottenham meeting the Seville coach (Juande Ramos). Whether it happened or not, it appeared in the press, so the press were continually on about the guy's future. The media were not doing that out of malice. I am sure they were getting information, tittle-tattle and bits of rumour. That is enough to exacerbate it. But it cannot be healthy that every day Martin turns the paper over, his future is being discussed."
09 October 2007
Following Henk Ten Cate's departure to take the assistant managerial post at Chelsea, youth team coach Adrie Koster is set to be promoted to the first team hotseat at Ajax.
The former Dutch international is likely to take charge until at least the end of the current season, with Ajax yet to rule out a contract extension should things go smoothly.
Koster, 52, took over as head of the youth academy at Ajax in late 2006 after being dismissed from the managerial post at RKC Waalwijk. Previously, he worked with Willem II, Roda JC, Helmond, TOP Oss, Excelsior, and VVV Venlo.
It is his time with Excelsior that he's perhaps best known for, guiding the Rotterdam minnows to promotion to the Eredivisie back in 2002, one year before ending his six-season tenure at the Woudestein.
However, this underlines the fact that he is inexperienced at the top level. His coaching jobs have generally been with smaller Dutch teams, with Ajax set to be by far his biggest test yet.
Of course, the same applied to Henk Ten Cate, but 'Henkie' did spend three years at Champions League-winning Barcelona, albeit as assistant.
Regardless, the Amsterdam giants are almost certainly poised to announce Koster as first team manager imminently.
