MARTIN Jol faces his first assignment as Tottenham's new head coach tonight when his side take on Burnley in the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

The Dutchman, who originally joined Spurs as an assistant coach, was yesterday handed the reins until the end of the 2006-07 season following the resignation of Jacques Santini.

Jol does not bring experience of top level club or international management, but he is considered one of Holland's finest coaches after successful stints with low profile clubs Roda JC and RKC Waalwijk.

With an Eredivisie championship challenge realistically out of the question, Jol viewed a cup triumph as the best way to qualify his sides for Europe.

Tottenham are in a similar position, especially after four successive league defeats, and there are already indications Jol has pinpointed the importance of tonight's game to the players.