Andre Villas-Boas
The Tottenham squad are sad to see Andre Villas-Boas go, Brad Friedel says.

Tottenham keeper Brad Friedel says that the players were completely behind Andre Villas-Boas and are sad to see the manager go after he was sensationally axed this week.

Despite Spurs being just five points off the top four Daniel Levy chose to wield the axe as he looks to keep the side in the mix for silverware.

Villas-Boas spent over £100m on new players in the summer in order to try and rebuild after losing Gareth Bale but the side are yet to gel and Friedel insists that in his time at Tottenham the manager was thought to be the man to make it work for the team.

"I think all the players in the changing room really wanted things to work out for Andre," Friedel told Fox Soccer Daily. "From day one that he came to the club, [he had an] open door policy, very good communication with the players. None of us were happy to see him go.

"We still have to continue to have a very good team spirit, which I know we will. We have a lot of quality in the changing room.

"I'm sure the board are going to be hiring a very good manager to take us forward, who the players will all be behind again, because, at the end of the day, we are employed by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, not by the manager they're bringing in. We just have to try to adhere to all of his ideas and try to get results for the football club."

Tim Sherwood has taken over as temporary manager at Tottenham while Levy continues his search for a replacement for Villas-Boas with Glenn Hoddle and Fabio Capello both mentioned as possible candidates for the role.