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Martin Jol was sat among the Tottenham Hotspur fans as White Hart Lane played out its final match on Sunday, saying his goodbyes to the old ground in his own way.

The affable Dutchman is credited by many for laying the foundations for the modern Spurs side, taking them from mediocrity towards European competition and a dodgy lasagne away from the Champions League. He was the first Spurs manager since Keith Burkinshaw to qualify for European football in successive seasons

Jol's final night as a manager at White Hart Lane came with the UEFA Cup tie against Getafe in October 2007, when news leaked during the match that he would be leaving the club after Juande Ramos had been approached to become his successor. The fans sang his name throughout the night and he was gone later that evening.

But there is no bitterness from the Dutchman. He has been back at a club he holds a special bond with a handful of times over the years, admittedly "sneaking" into executive boxes so he didn't cause a fuss when he came to watch matches.

This time he was invited back for the grand finale, alongside other former managers and players. The players were paraded on the pitch while the managers, as was their way back in the day, watched on from the sidelines but Jol was just happy to be there.

"It was nice to be back. I was in the Bill Nicholson Lounge. It seemed like everybody was there," he told football.london. "Peter Shreeves, David Pleat, Keith Burkinshaw, Harry Redknapp, a lot of players. I was on a table with Dimitar Berbatov, Edgar Davids, Simon Davies.

"It was a fantastic day. It was the first time ever that I've watched Spurs from a normal seat. To be in the stand was something else. I was among the fans. It was a fantastic experience. It was a great feeling. The fans around me started to sing my name so that was nice."

Spurs will always feel like home for the 61-year-old, who managed Hamburg, Ajax, Fulham and Egyptian side Al-Ahly after leaving the club.

"Even when I arrived in the car park all the people were nice. That is one of the things I love about Spurs, all the people are still there. If you look at my hometown club [ADO Den Haag], everything is changing but at Spurs all the doormen, security men, people like that are still there after ten or 15 years. It's unbelieveable. It's like a family," he explained.

"Spurs is a place where you feel a part of it. That's nice to be able to say. You feel very proud. To be part of that club, part of its history."

Jol has not only been impressed by the quickly rising new stadium alongside the Lane - he's thinking about buying a couple of seats there - but he's also taken with Mauricio Pochettino and what he's done with the club.

"I think when you look at him and the way they play, they do the right things. You can see that he's a thinker. He thinks about everything," said the Dutchman.

"The system helps. Chelsea will always buy more expensive players, and Manchester City, but because of the system everybody is playing to their strengths."

He added: "The system is great. They run off the ball. In a different way it's still the Spurs system. It's push and run. They pass into the space with runners. You saw it in the first ten minutes on Sunday. It was so difficult for Manchester United to handle them."

Jol feels there is one type of player that Tottenham could do with to take them to the next level and win silverware.

"I was talking to one of Spurs' double winners Cliff Jones. I said the only player they lack now is someone like him, a winger. If they put in one player like Hazard or Mahrez then wow and Cliff said he agreed," he said.

"If Spurs could get a player like one of them then they would be unbeatable for the next couple of years. They would be champions."

He added: "Tottenham have always played with wingers but this is the first time I've seen a Spurs side playing without them but still playing in the Spurs way. Push and run. Lots of crosses and shots at goal. They play to the strength of the players and that comes from the coach.

"They don't concede goals because of the centre-backs and Dier of course, he's a strong horse. Wanyama is the same."

As he was not out there on the pitch to wave goodbye to White Hart Lane, football.london asked the former Spurs boss if he had any message he would like to say to the fans who sang his name for so many years.

"I would say that they can be proud of themselves and the club. I mean how many clubs are there with such a feeling? We know the new stadium will rise on almost the same spot, but it's still not our pitch, not the same atmosphere. It might be better, maybe, but it won't be the same," he said.

"But they can be proud like me that they were part of this wonderful club."