Pleat pleads for calm as Tottenham prepare to usher in the young ones

Two games – one last Saturday, the other this Wednesday – may well define the future of Tottenham Hotspur. In the first they were humiliated by Southampton in the FA Cup. In the second they face Swindon Town in the FA Youth Cup.

The profiles of the two games could not be more different as David Pleat, the club's director of football, is all too aware. "The fact is that we have had a very public hanging in front of a lot of people and it is a nasty blow," he says of the 4-0 Cup beating, which was shown live to an audience of seven million armchair fans.

The reaction to the Cup defeat, together with poor results over Christmas, has sparked talk of a crisis and shocked some at the club. There is now a very public questioning by fans and pundits of manager Glenn Hoddle's policy of putting faith in older players such as Teddy Sheringham and Gustavo Poyet and the atmosphere at Spurs Lodge, the club's training ground in Chigwell, Essex, is one of frustration. This situation has not been helped by the spat with the midfield player Tim Sherwood, the prolonged departure of Les Ferdinand, doubts over team spirit raised by another veteran, Steffen Freund, and now the messy transfer bid for Bolton Wanderers' striker Michael Ricketts.

Indeed, Spurs Lodge is rather like the team. Smart, well-kept but relatively modest. It does not overly impress. Little wonder that Tottenham are desperate to gain planning permission for a new £10m training complex and academy at nearby Abridge.

"We have stuttered badly and then self-doubt creeps in and that is a dangerous thing," says Pleat. "But knee-jerk reactions are irresponsible. We will take it calmly – we've been knocked out of both cups in the first round – and obviously at Tottenham if we are not going to get in the top six, which is still the aim, we are always a topical tip to do well in the cup competitions. This year we have failed our supporters." He continues: "It is an empty feeling and you know you cannot rant and rave and be too emotional. I have learnt as a director that in defeat as well as victory it is best to stay calm."

Hoddle echoes the sense of disappointment as he addresses the press in the canteen across the corridor from Pleat's office. But is it time for a clear-out? That is not something Pleat will be drawn on although he acknowledges the new financial reality of football – "It's like the Wall Street crash this, but we will survive and football will come through with a more sensible approach" –will lead to some harsh decisions by every club.

"Like others we are very unlikely to get into discussions with players of a certain age-group before the end of the season even if their contract is expiring," he says. He does not mention it but both Sheringham, the captain, and Freund fall into that category. The days of clubs such as Tottenham – who are not guaranteed European football – spending £10m on a new striker are "definitely gone". If only it were that easy to say goodbye to Sergei Rebrov, again conspicuous by his absence.

Loan deals and swaps are the currency of the transfer window with Spurs, who will be involved in "one or two exchanges", unwilling to "produce irresponsible money". "It is not just us, Chelsea have done nothing for 12 months now. They are the victims of their spending," Pleat says. And, of course, there is Leeds United.

So it is another age-group which is exciting this football enthusiast who, for all his board duties, is still most exercised when talking about the game. "We have some young talents here – a couple of young forwards called [Jamie] Slabber and [Mark] Yeates," he says. Both will play on Wednesday. Then there is the young Belgian Jonathan Blondel, who is to go out on loan, the goalkeepers Shwan Jalal and Gavin Kelly, Dean Marney and Steven Ferguson. All possible names for the future. And then there is one big teenage talent he is bursting to talk about. Unfortunately he resists the temptation. For now.

Pleat has always taken a delight in talent-spotting. He brought in Simon Davies and Matthew Etherington from Peterborough United, Gary Doherty from Luton Town and Anthony Gardner from Port Vale. In some ways he prefers to hunt in the lower leagues – "Sometimes you do not know what you have got with a young player until he plays in front of a crowd" – and spends a long time tracking players. That is the key.

Pleat was well aware of Wayne Rooney before he saw him. "He played against us in the semi-finals of the Youth Cup last year and scored in both legs," Pleat says. He was asked at a fans' forum before the game who they should look out for. "I said the scraggy boy called Rooney." He adds: "People say to me 'Haven't you got a Rooney or a [James] Milner' and I say, of course we have but at the moment they are behind in the pecking order. But the only way they are going to get the projection and the opportunity is if we dilute that playing staff a little bit," he says. Prepare for that pecking order to change, then.

It is five years since Pleat returned to Tottenham, invited back by the then chairman Alan Sugar and retained by the new owners Enic and the youthful chairman Daniel Levy, who is said to rely heavily on him. Pleat has a seat on the board and has always been aware of the tensions that can exist between a manager and the directors but he insists that the lines run smoothly. "A manager has to be, by the very nature of the job, selfish. He is looking at today because he knows there may not be a tomorrow. So therefore I have to be the balance and say to everyone 'Have we thought of this or that'," he says.

It is always a difficult path to tread as director of football, especially when times are a little rocky. There is the danger of undermining the manager, however unintentionally, and Pleat says that this concern means he only gives advice "when invited" and never goes into the dressing-room. "I know what the manager expects and what is acceptable because I have been a manager. That's how I conduct myself now. I know when to talk and not to talk."

Ah, yes, being a manager. Pleat, 58 this week, is still best remembered for one footballing moment of unbounded enthusiasm – the wild jig as he scampered across the turf at Maine Road on the last day of the season two decades ago when Luton Town avoided relegation. Remember the pale grey shoes?

The enthusiasm is still there (even if, thankfully, the shoes aren't) but are his management days over? "No, not necessarily," he says without hesitation. "Being a director of football can't compare. There is only one real massive buzz and that is to go home on a Saturday night having seen your team win and play well and do one or two things you might have spoken about or practised. That is the ultimate satisfaction of any person. Nothing can take that place."

Except, perhaps, sleep – the best thing about his present job. "Now I can sleep at night not worrying about so and so being injured and we didn't get three points when we should have done."