Jol says he will not swap Huddlestone for anyone

[bandini]

Tottenham boss Martin Jol has claimed he would not swap Tom Huddlestone for anyone else in England.

The midfielder has emerged as one of the Premiership's most talented young players this season and has been likened to both Michael Carrick and Franz Beckenbauer.

He signed a new four-and-a-half year contract with the club on Boxing Day, but could only help Tottenham to a four-point haul from their four games over Christmas.

A 3-1 loss at Newcastle was a bad start to the festive period and was followed by a win over Aston Villa, a defeat at home to Liverpool and a draw at Portsmouth.

Jol has mixed feelings about his side's results, but is delighted to have a strong crop of young players at his disposal.

"Our results and performances over Christmas could have been worse, but they could have been better too," the Dutchman told Tottenham's official website.

"I feel we are going in the right direction, but it was disappointing to see our first-half performance (against Liverpool).

"Aston Villa was good on Boxing Day, and I still think we should have picked up three points at Portsmouth.

"When you concede a soft goal like we did against Liverpool and Portsmouth, through giving the ball away, you mostly get punished.

"We have talked about it, and when you lose the ball you must be more decisive and get one or two tackles in to get the ball back.

"We didn't do that. It is about us, and we are still learning.

"We have great talents. For example, I would not swap Tom Huddlestone for anyone else in England at the moment - but we've got to learn, be better and tougher in the tackle."

source: Sky Sports - The Best Sport Coverage From Around The World

[Reynaldo7]

And so we shouldn't it's time we spent our money building up our youngsters and not just doing a Man U Chelsea and just buy the best players.

I want to see a side that is together for a few season and win afew premierships not just win one and then sell our players.

[bandini]

I agree with you. I think that we have some excellent young players now and Lennon signing the new contract is a sign that they believe in the long term at the club. I just want to see some Premiership consistency right now and I'll be a happy man.