Tottenham were today attempting to reassure Tim Sherwood that he has their full backing after the head coach spoke candidly about his future at the weekend.

Sherwood was due to have a meeting today with chairman Daniel Levy — it is thought the pair have been in regular contact throughout Sherwood’s tenure — at which the 45-year-old was expected to hear a favourable report of his work.

Since Sherwood replaced the sacked Andre Villas-Boas shortly before Christmas, he has seen other managers linked with the job in the long term. Holland coach Louis van Gaal has done nothing to douse speculation that he will succeed Sherwood in the summer, while Ajax boss Frank De Boer revealed he was approached before Sherwood took over.

There are also thought to have been tentative talks with Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, who is highly regarded by Spurs technical director Franco Baldini. It is believed Sherwood would welcome greater clarity from the club on where he stands and Spurs were planning to inform him that, as far as the club are concerned, nothing has changed since he took over nearly three months ago.

Friends of Sherwood said he was approaching today’s meeting with Levy with no intention of abandoning his position early, even though he appeared particularly deflated in the wake of the match at Stamford Bridge.It is thought the results he has achieved since taking the job — eight wins from 13 League games and qualification for the last 16 of the Europa League — have largely been well received.

Tottenham stress they have not approached any other manager since Sherwood took the job and have emphasised that the club’s former development coach holds a contract until the end of next season. Sherwood is, however, expected to be reminded of the need for tact when speaking publicly, following his explosive post-match interview after Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Chelsea.

Sherwood questioned the character of some of his players following that result and, when asked about Spurs’ prospects of qualifying for the Champions League, he said: “Everyone in the club talks about fourth. Wake up.” While Tottenham accept Sherwood is a forthright character and acknowledge his desire to speak openly, it is likely to be suggested to him that he might be wiser to keep criticism of his squad within the walls of the dressing room.

The club were also keen to point out that Sherwood had never been asked to finish in the top four when he succeeded Villas-Boas. They insist that Champions League qualification will not be the decisive factor in whether or not Sherwood is retained.

Standard Sport understands, however, that Sherwood is unlikely to take a softer approach with his players. The head coach believes strongly that, at a crucial stage of the season and in light of performances against the Premier League’s best teams, a hard line is required.

Meanwhile, Tottenham will appeal against the red card shown to Younes Kaboul at Stamford Bridge. The defender was sent off in the incident that led to the penalty which gave Chelsea their second goal but he appeared to have made little contact with Samuel Eto’o before the forward fell.

Chelsea v Tottenham - player ratings 27 show all Chelsea v Tottenham - player ratings 1/27 Petr Cech - 6 Saved well from Sandro snap shot and commanded area well from set pieces. 2/27 Branislav Ivanovic - 6 Early blemish when Bentaleb got in behind down his flank for Spurs’ best chance of the game but largely untroubled. 3/27 Gary Cahill - 7 Dealt comfortably with aerial threat – occasionally looked vulnerable when Spurs countered 4/27 John Terry - 7 With Adebayor drifting around the pitch little to do – good in the air. Dealt with everything comfortably. GETTY 5/27 Cesar Azpilicueta - 6 Solid for the most part but occasionally has looked vulnerable to the power of Walker down the right – booked late on after committing a number of niggling fouls. GETTY 6/27 Nemanja Matic - 7 Did his job of snuffing out Spurs attacks in the middle well – unspectacular but solid. GETTY 7/27 Frank Lampard - 6 Looked most likely to create something for stagnant Chelsea in first half – set forwards free on a couple of occasions with passes over the top. Took a yellow card for the team perhaps explaining his substitution at half time. GETTY 8/27 Ramires - 6 A threat breaking from midfield and winning free kicks but failed to produce in the final third – particularly dangerous with his pace after Tottenham were reduced to ten men. GETTY 9/27 Eden Hazard - 7 Poor first half highlighted by open goal miss but came to life after the break and supplied the cross which led to the penalty he converted. GETTY 10/27 Andre Schurrle - 5 Hardly involved in the first half – slightly more lively after the break but touch deserted him too often and withdrawn just after the hour mark – will be disappointed not to have built on last week’s hat-trick at Fulham. GETTY 11/27 Samuel Eto'o - 8 A late replacement for the injured Fernando Torres – Eto’o was a threat to the Tottenham defence early on, harshly adjudged to be off-side, setting up Hazard and then going close himself. Got a deserved goal latching onto Vertonghen’s back pass and then won penalty to put Chelsea out of sight. GETTY 12/27 Willian - 6 Looked lively after half time introduction and linked up well with Hazard and Willian but spurned good chance late on. 13/27 Oscar - 6 Bright after coming off the bench for the final quarter of the game. Would expect to be recalled in place of Schurrle next week. GETTY 14/27 Demba Ba - 8 Came on for the last 15 minutes in place of Eto’o and took his opportunity grabbing two poacher’s goals after sloppy Tottenham defending. GETTY 15/27 Hugo Lloris - 6 Hard to criticise the Frenchman for any of Chelsea’s goals – let down by his defence but might be disappointed to have been beaten between his legs twice. 16/27 Kyle Naughton - 7 Pick of the Tottenham defenders at right back – nullified Hazard in the first half and unlucky to be on the end of a drubbing. 17/27 Michael Dawson - 5 Looked all at sea early on as Chelsea spurned good opportunities and caused team mate Naughton to take a yellow after a poor pass and to compound issues was forced off injured after 70 minutes. 18/27 Younes Kaboul - 5 Vulnerable with Dawson early on but had appeared solid until harsh red card for bringing down Eto’o in the box. GETTY 19/27 Jan Vertonghen - 5 Absolute howler for Chelsea opener – slipped and instead of taking the safe option played a terrible back pass letting Eto’o in to score. Moved from left back to centre back after Kaboul red card but things didn’t get any better for him as Chelsea pulled away. GETTY 20/27 Kyle Walker - 5 Enjoyed playing in more advanced midfield role in the first half and showed moments of class but was guilty of another poor back pass when he headed the ball to Demba Ba for Chelsea’s fourth. GETTY 21/27 Nabil Bentaleb - 5 Missed one of Spurs’ best chances of the match before being booked for a cynical tug back on Ramires. Almost gifted Chelsea the lead with misplaced pass and failed to make an impact throughout. GETTY 22/27 Sandro - 7 Battled throughout and was effective at spoiling Chelsea’s attempts to get forward in the first half. Tested Petr Cech with a fine left footed strike from the edge of the box. 23/27 Aaron Lennon - 6 Bright first half saw him involved in most good things Tottenham did –held the ball up and linked the play well but too often strayed away from the penalty area. Powerless to do anything about Spurs’ second half collapse. GETTY 24/27 Gylfi Sigurdsson - 5 Neat but struggled to make an impact. Hauled off following the red card. GETTY 25/27 Emmanuel Adebayor -6 Bright first half saw him involved in most good things Tottenham did –held the ball up and linked the play well but too often strayed away from the penalty area. Powerless to do anything about Spurs’ second half collapse. GETTY 26/27 Paulinho - 5 Brought on to to shore up Spurs midfield following Kaboul red card but failed to stem the flow of goals. GETTY 27/27 Zeki Fryers - 5 Replaced injured Dawson late on – little he could do about late Ba goals. GETTY 1/27 Petr Cech - 6 Saved well from Sandro snap shot and commanded area well from set pieces. 2/27 Branislav Ivanovic - 6 Early blemish when Bentaleb got in behind down his flank for Spurs’ best chance of the game but largely untroubled. 3/27 Gary Cahill - 7 Dealt comfortably with aerial threat – occasionally looked vulnerable when Spurs countered 4/27 John Terry - 7 With Adebayor drifting around the pitch little to do – good in the air. Dealt with everything comfortably. GETTY 5/27 Cesar Azpilicueta - 6 Solid for the most part but occasionally has looked vulnerable to the power of Walker down the right – booked late on after committing a number of niggling fouls. GETTY 6/27 Nemanja Matic - 7 Did his job of snuffing out Spurs attacks in the middle well – unspectacular but solid. GETTY 7/27 Frank Lampard - 6 Looked most likely to create something for stagnant Chelsea in first half – set forwards free on a couple of occasions with passes over the top. Took a yellow card for the team perhaps explaining his substitution at half time. GETTY 8/27 Ramires - 6 A threat breaking from midfield and winning free kicks but failed to produce in the final third – particularly dangerous with his pace after Tottenham were reduced to ten men. GETTY 9/27 Eden Hazard - 7 Poor first half highlighted by open goal miss but came to life after the break and supplied the cross which led to the penalty he converted. GETTY 10/27 Andre Schurrle - 5 Hardly involved in the first half – slightly more lively after the break but touch deserted him too often and withdrawn just after the hour mark – will be disappointed not to have built on last week’s hat-trick at Fulham. GETTY 11/27 Samuel Eto'o - 8 A late replacement for the injured Fernando Torres – Eto’o was a threat to the Tottenham defence early on, harshly adjudged to be off-side, setting up Hazard and then going close himself. Got a deserved goal latching onto Vertonghen’s back pass and then won penalty to put Chelsea out of sight. GETTY 12/27 Willian - 6 Looked lively after half time introduction and linked up well with Hazard and Willian but spurned good chance late on. 13/27 Oscar - 6 Bright after coming off the bench for the final quarter of the game. Would expect to be recalled in place of Schurrle next week. GETTY 14/27 Demba Ba - 8 Came on for the last 15 minutes in place of Eto’o and took his opportunity grabbing two poacher’s goals after sloppy Tottenham defending. GETTY 15/27 Hugo Lloris - 6 Hard to criticise the Frenchman for any of Chelsea’s goals – let down by his defence but might be disappointed to have been beaten between his legs twice. 16/27 Kyle Naughton - 7 Pick of the Tottenham defenders at right back – nullified Hazard in the first half and unlucky to be on the end of a drubbing. 17/27 Michael Dawson - 5 Looked all at sea early on as Chelsea spurned good opportunities and caused team mate Naughton to take a yellow after a poor pass and to compound issues was forced off injured after 70 minutes. 18/27 Younes Kaboul - 5 Vulnerable with Dawson early on but had appeared solid until harsh red card for bringing down Eto’o in the box. GETTY 19/27 Jan Vertonghen - 5 Absolute howler for Chelsea opener – slipped and instead of taking the safe option played a terrible back pass letting Eto’o in to score. Moved from left back to centre back after Kaboul red card but things didn’t get any better for him as Chelsea pulled away. GETTY 20/27 Kyle Walker - 5 Enjoyed playing in more advanced midfield role in the first half and showed moments of class but was guilty of another poor back pass when he headed the ball to Demba Ba for Chelsea’s fourth. GETTY 21/27 Nabil Bentaleb - 5 Missed one of Spurs’ best chances of the match before being booked for a cynical tug back on Ramires. Almost gifted Chelsea the lead with misplaced pass and failed to make an impact throughout. GETTY 22/27 Sandro - 7 Battled throughout and was effective at spoiling Chelsea’s attempts to get forward in the first half. Tested Petr Cech with a fine left footed strike from the edge of the box. 23/27 Aaron Lennon - 6 Bright first half saw him involved in most good things Tottenham did –held the ball up and linked the play well but too often strayed away from the penalty area. Powerless to do anything about Spurs’ second half collapse. GETTY 24/27 Gylfi Sigurdsson - 5 Neat but struggled to make an impact. Hauled off following the red card. GETTY 25/27 Emmanuel Adebayor -6 Bright first half saw him involved in most good things Tottenham did –held the ball up and linked the play well but too often strayed away from the penalty area. Powerless to do anything about Spurs’ second half collapse. GETTY 26/27 Paulinho - 5 Brought on to to shore up Spurs midfield following Kaboul red card but failed to stem the flow of goals. GETTY 27/27 Zeki Fryers - 5 Replaced injured Dawson late on – little he could do about late Ba goals. GETTY

The Football Association were expecting to deliver their verdict tomorrow and if referee Michael Oliver’s decision is overturned, Kaboul would be free to play in Sunday’s derby against Arsenal at White Hart Lane.

Jan Vertonghen is the club’s only available centre-back at the moment, with Kaboul suspended and Michael Dawson and Vlad Chiriches both out with injuries.