Former Tottenham Hotspur boss George Graham has claimed that Andre Villas-Boas did not deserve to be sacked as manager of the club.

Villas-Boas was dismissed on Monday following the team's 5-0 defeat at home to Liverpool in the Premier League.

Despite a string of disappointing results in recent weeks, Graham believes that the Portuguese should have been given more time at White Hart Lane.

"Andre Villas-Boas had some good results earlier on and brought in some good players, so perhaps he has been treated a bit harshly," he told Goal.com.

"It would only take a couple of wins and things would look better, but nothing surprises me in football anymore and you no longer get time to iron out problems.

"All clubs need stability and Spurs need it as much as any club, but it comes from the top and Spurs obviously feel they've given him enough time and they need to change direction."

Former England coach Fabio Capello is among the early favourites to replace Villas-Boas at Spurs.