The Dutchman was sacked in October last year with Spurs struggling in the Barclays Premier League, but he has since bounced back strongly by leading Hamburg to the top of the Bundesliga in Germany.

Jol's former employers, meanwhile, have lurched into crisis since last season's Carling Cup victory under his Spanish successor and currently sit bottom of the table following their worst start since 1912.

Spurs' strife follows a massive summer outlay on the likes of Roman Pavlyuchenko, David Bentley, Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka and Giovani.

And Jol, who developed a reputation for sourcing some of the best young British talent during his time at White Hart Lane, believes the influx of foreign talent has been behind the club's early season slump.

"I believe if you work for an English club you need an English identity and I think that worked," he said in The Sun.

"We were developing young players and were in Europe every year. I had six players in England's squad.

"Now there are Corluka, Giovani, Pavlyuchenko, Gilberto, Modric and Spurs have a different philosophy.

"They've got players from abroad, that have changed the team's identity. Spending £18million on someone, £15m on another. Could you imagine that before? It would've seemed ridiculous."

Jol added: "They are so desperate to be a success it will be a disaster if they are not."