Chelsea spending power gives Ramos the blues

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Juande Ramos fears Tottenham and Chelsea are moving in 'different directions' but has defended the structure he works under at White Hart Lane.

When Spurs defeated their London rivals in the Carling Cup in February there were hopes of closing the gap with the heavyweights of the Premier League - but there have been contrasting summers in both camps.
Chelsea have brought in a World Cup winner as their manager and have been pursuing Robinho to add to a squad bolstered by Deco and Jose Bosingwa, while Spurs have lost vice-captain Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov has wanted to leave the club, although the club today confirmed they had agreed a deal to bring in Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Head coach Ramos, ahead of Spurs' Barclays Premier League trip to Stamford Bridge this weekend, admitted: 'Chelsea are currently in a situation where they are built to be champions or contenders in every trophy they care to enter.
'They have the ability to sign absolutely top-echelon stars from anywhere around the world, pick the cream of the crop, to try and win every trophy. We are kind of in a different league to that.
'Maybe it's a case of two clubs moving in slightly different directions.'
Ramos has nevertheless been pleased with the improvement in the quality of his squad after letting seven first-team players leave, which has offers an assessment of the players brought to the club by sporting director Damien Comolli.
The likes of Younes Kaboul and Kevin-Prince Boateng struggling last season brought Comolli's influence in the spotlight, and Keane and Berbatov's situation has put pressure on the Frenchman to use his scouting network to find suitable replacements.
Comolli finds players for Ramos - such as Pavlyuchenko, who is understood to have agreed a long-term deal - and a consensus is made over transfers along with chairman Daniel Levy.
Ramos, speaking of his work with Comolli, said: 'We have an excellent relationship, the contact is daily.
'It was the same story at Sevilla.
'We had a sporting director, a director of football if you like, who was responsible for transfers and signings.
'Tottenham is a similar situation.
'You've got the chairman, the sporting director, and the manager, currently myself.
'What I have to say is that structure was already established before I got here.
'I just simply fitted into that existing structure.'
Comolli is expected to have a busy final period of the transfer window, with negotiations over Berbatov with Manchester United and finding other players.
'You get the feeling that the sooner the whole thing is finished the better,' said Ramos when asked about Berbatov's transfer saga.
'The chapter finally closes with the end of the transfer market. I think there is going to be lots of reasonably furious action between now and then.'
Ramos blames the Berbatov episode for Spurs losing their first two games of the season, and it does not get any easier against Chelsea, who are unbeaten in the league at home since 2004.
'Without a doubt, it has had an awful lot to do with the start to the season,' said Ramos.
'With the comings and goings, players are obviously trying their best to concentrate 100% but I think it has affected things slightly with their work on the training ground and even going into games. It has been affected by this.
'It would have been great to have been a lot calmer. But you have to grin and bear it and get on with things.
'Certainly the ideal situation is that you get your squad settled early, you work with all the players in the pre-season period.'