Ramos urged to become Zenit boss

The 54-year-old lasted less than a year in the White Hart Lane hot-seat, despite guiding them to League Cup success, after overseeing the worst start to a league season in the club's history in 2008/09.

He later cropped up at la Liga giants Real Madrid, taking over from sacked German Bernd Schuster last December, and initially revitalised the Bernabeu outfit's fortunes prior to the side capitulating towards the end of the campaign.

As a result, Ramos' stay in the Spanish capital was not extended, with Villarreal chief Manuel Pellegrini arriving to try and manage returning president Florentino Perez's latest batch of stellar signings, including Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And the former Sevilla boss, who won back-to-back UEFA Cups with the Andalucians in 2006 and 2007, has been encouraged to return to management at Russian Premier League outfit Zenit by Kerzhakov, who worked under Ramos in Seville.

Current boss Dick Advocaat is due to take over the Belgium national team on January 1 2010, and Kerzhakov is confident his former boss would be a huge success in Russia.

“Ramos is a great coach and, from my point of view, ideal for Zenit," he told Sport Express.

"Juande Ramos is one of the best coaches, along with Vicente del Bosque, Rafael Benitez, Luis Aragones and Josep Guardiola. They have all enjoyed great success at continental level.”