EWOOD legend Tony Parkes is arguably the most famous caretaker in football.

So if anyone knows what Tottenham Hotspur's stand-in manager, David Pleat, has gone through during the last six months then it's Graeme Souness's trusty lieutenant.

Pleat and Parkes will be direct rivals at White Hart Lane today, where they'll be barking orders at players from opposite sides of the halfway line.

But off the pitch, Parkes has a lot of respect for the way Pleat has dragged Spurs up by the boot laces since he stepped in as caretaker in the wake of Glenn Hoddle's sacking.

Parkes has performed a similar role on five previous occasions at Rovers, stretching back to when Don Mackay replaced Bobby Saxton in the mid-1980s.

And although he boasts an enviable record as a stand-in manager, he admits the job of a caretaker is a thankless task.

"When I was caretaker manager, I always thought it initially used to go well," reflected Parkes.

"However, the longer you are in it, the more problems become apparent and to be fair to the players, they need someone who's going to be there permanently.

"They're always wondering if someone's going to be coming in next week and I do think at times you can be a caretaker manager for too long.

"The effect you have probably wears off after about six weeks - or six to eight games.

"It's very quick. You have a sudden upsurge when players come into the team who haven't been in it for a while so they've got something to prove.

"Some are glad the manager's gone and others are unhappy the manager's gone so I think it's really short term.

"You're very fortunate if you keep the team for any length of time and have success as a caretaker manager."

Pleat is one of those examples where the gamble has worked.

When he took over, Spurs were floundering in the bottom three but the former Luton Town boss has since managed to arrest the slide and, although recent results have not met the fans' expectations, he has at least achieved his main objective, which was to keep the club in the top division.

Parkes added: "The better you do, the longer you give the club to get the right man in. If you start to lose games quickly as a caretaker then they might have to rush someone in who they don't really want, so winning games is a big help for the club.

"And I think that's what has happened at Tottenham."