Friedel impressed by new boss Villas-Boas

The former Porto and Chelsea manager was unveiled as Harry Redknapp’s replacement last week and has immediately gone to work on shaping the squad, bringing in Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Villas-Boas began his new role on Monday and Friedel, who is seven years his senior, has been impressed with what he has seen.

"You can only take people on what you see, and from what I have seen he is a very ambitious manager, he is very organised and training has been very sharp," Friedel told talkSPORT.

"He has let us know he wants to come here to win things, so in the first couple of days, everything looks very good.

"There are also a lot of great staff members behind the scenes here who stayed on, so there is still that Tottenham base.

"This is all positive and our fans should be excited for the upcoming season."

Friedel joined the White Hart Lane outfit from Aston Villa last summer and immediately established himself as Spurs’ number one under Redknapp.

However, reports suggest the club are close to bringing in Hugo Lloris from Lyon, jeopardising the 41-year-old’s position in the starting XI.

The Premier League veteran understands the need to bring in players, confessing this season could be his last in professional football.

"We will welcome any good addition to the squad," he added. "When I first signed here, there was no secret Tottenham would one day need a new long-term goalkeeper.

"I am 41, this could be my final season. I will do whatever asked of me, whether that is number one, two or three and will do it to the best of my ability.

"When you get older, it is easier to realise this is a team sport and the egos have to take a back seat if you want to be successful."

Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.