Blame Spurs stars not the coach says Woodgate

(CNN) -- England defender Jonathan Woodgate has urged Tottenham to keep faith with head coach Juande Ramos as the Premier League strugglers prepare to respond to the worst start in the club's history.

Against a background of sagging morale and a slumping share price, chairman Daniel Levy knows he must act to halt a nightmare start that has brought just two points from eight games.

Woodgate insists the Tottenham players are right behind Ramos and added: "He is still the manager and hopefully he will continue to be.

"We will stick by the manager no matter what. We've played well at times, but this season we haven't cut it. The buck stops with the players.

"We're bottom of the Premiership and it's not nice at all. We're hurting inside but we have to stand up and get ourselves out of this mess that we've got ourselves into."

The north London club finished with only nine men in the 2-1 defeat at Stoke, with Ramos saying afterwards that he "did not know" whether he still had the backing of Levy who went to Spain to recruit him last season.

Spurs play in Italy on Thursday when they face the second-placed club in Serie A, Udinese, in a UEFA Cup group game.

A newly-formed fans group is planning a mass protest at the club's next home game against Bolton on Sunday, calling on Levy to resign.

However, it is believed the key change will be to the position of sporting director Damien Comolli, who has been in charge of transfers at the club.

Ramos admitted Tottenham's situation was "terrible" after Stoke condemned his side to their sixth defeat of the season.

After Bolton, Spurs face arch-rivals Arsenal away on Wednesday October 29 followed by Liverpool at home and Manchester City away with the threat of relegation increasing by the match.

"We're in a hard battle. We have to stick to our beliefs and play like we did in the first half (against Stoke) with 10 men," said Woodgate who was voted man-of-the-match when Spurs beat Chelsea to lift last season's Carling Cup.

"We should stay up and I think we will. Would it be a successful season to do that? No idea. I think we will stay up."