Football: Klinsmann put in his place by Gross

THE HONEYMOON has proved to be a short one for Jurgen Klinsmann and Christian Gross, with the German international deciding that the end of the season will see him untie the knot with Tottenham.

"I will give my best until the end of the season and then we will go different directions," said Klinsmann, whose differences with the Spurs coach came to a head in the White Hart Lane tunnel after last Sunday's 1-0 win over Bolton.

"Christian and I obviously have totally different opinions about things. But I just don't want any more of this stuff going on, because we have enough problems with the relegation battle.

"At the end of the day, he is the manager and I respect that even if I do have different ideas. I have tried to give my input, but reached a certain point last week when our ideas differed."

The dispute was over Klinsmann's disagreement with the role of David Ginola in the team. Despite the argument, an uneasy truce was called and Klinsmann played in the 1-0 defeat at Leeds on Wednesday.

Gross asserted his authority by telling the striker that he was a squad member and had to accept "my decisions about who I play and where I play them". According to Gross, Klinsmann was the only player unhappy with what was a vital result because he did not agree with where the coach had decided to play certain players and, in particular, Ginola.

"I could not understand his reaction," Gross said. "We still have nine crucial games until the end of the season and I need a very positive attitude from him to help the team. When Jurgen rejoined us, it was very clear that he was coming here for six months to help us out of our problems and it is that help that we and all our fans now need. This is vital in our fight against relegation."

When Klinsmann returned to the club in December for his second spell, he was heralded as the man to inspire a Spurs revival. But he has scored only one goal in seven games and has been affected by a lack of service which has brought the team only 26 goals in 29 Premiership matches.

This is not the first time during his brief spell in charge that Gross has come into conflict with a senior player. Les Ferdinand spoke out after he was forced to train despite being injured.

Football, pages 20-23