Exit of key players led to poor start - Ramos

Former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has blamed the departure of key strikers Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane for the poor start to the season that led to his sacking at the weekend.

The Spaniard was dismissed after a year in charge after Spurs made their worst start to a league season.

In comments posted on his website, Ramos said the team had been unsettled by the exits of deadly strike duo Berbatov and Keane.

Berbatov joined champions Manchester United in September for 30.75 million pounds while Liverpool signed Keane for 19 million pounds in July.

"During the summer we had quite a difficult pre-season due to the changes in the team, which meant that we couldn't work as calmly as a pre-season requires," said Ramos.

"Some of the new players were very young, and despite their quality they needed time to adapt."