Although many have questioned Martin Jol's tactical nouse and team selection, few could argue that hasn't proved his motivational ability over the past three years. Taking over from Jacques Santini his impact was instant and few interviews involving the current squad fail to mention the tremendous team spirit at the club. It's at times like these that this spirit needs to be called on. There can be no feeling sorry for themselves, no lowered heads. This a time for leaders, for players to grab the team mate next to them and drag him, kicking and screaming, out of the doldrums. Make no mistake, Derby County will feel little sympathy for us. On paper we may be the better side, even with injuries, but as has been demonstrated against Sunderland and Everton, that counts for little when you cannot match the opposition for heart or fight. Saturday is a massively important match, make no mistake and the players can expect the fans to react but they can do little to help if some of the players don't stand up and be counted.
One of these players is Jermaine Jenas, dropped from the England squad by Steve Maclaren today. Saturday represents the chance for the much maligned midfielder to start to repay some of the faith Martin Jol, and a lot of the White Hart Lane crowd, has invested in him. Undeserving of a place in his club side, let alone his national squad, Jenas' faults have been well documented and I won't repeat what I have already felt necessary to write several times this season. Regardless of the haters, I'm personally fed up of having to defend him to rival fans who dismiss him as useless because actually, he's not. That's what makes him so infuriating. I know that underneath that player who doesn't get stuck in is a player who has genuine ability. If he doesn't show that tomorrow, he should be dropped without hesitation.
It would be too easy, however, to the lay the blame for our poor start at the feet of one individual, be it the coach or a player. It's also far to convenient to point towards the growing list of injuries. Yes at first glance it looks horrific but we're supposed to have built a squad that can cope. The truth is that, even with those players missing, we are better, much better in fact, than we have shown over the past two games. Everyone needs to improve tomorrow and that goes for Jenas, Jol, Robinson, Zokora, Bent… you name a player and he's unlikely to have painted himself in glory these past seven days.
For Jol's part he must be more adventurous, more willing to take risks. He has shown a commendable readiness to give youth a chance since coming to the club and tomorrow he must, if the players are fit, give an opportunity for players like Gareth Bale, Boateng and Taarabt to make an impact. Introducing one of these may well prove to be a panacea to a side that seems void of ideas, and may have a similar impact to the introduction of Aaron Lennon into the first team during the 2006-06 season.
Regardless, if we beat Derby tomorrow, few Spurs fans will care how we do it. It's a measure of how poorly we have started that this game has taken on such importance. Should Jol be sacked if we fail to win? Of course not. He has done much for the club and deserves our faith in what is probably the most difficult period of his tenure. It's a question that I believe won't need answering, as it remains a good slice of fortune that we face arguably the weakest side in the league, and though no game at this level is easy, Jol would have been relieved to have such a winnable fixture ahead of him in his quest to turn around this 'crisis'.
Match Prediction: 3-1 Tottenham I'm aware I've predicted a Tottenham victory in both the previous matches this season but hopefully this will be case of third time lucky. Even with injuries we should prove too strong for Derby, who will probably score though. The real test begins next week at Old Trafford though I am sure Derby will prove a stubborn hurdle to negotiate before that task.