SPURS have fired an angry broadside at Wanderers over alleged moves to sell Michael Ricketts to the London club as the transfer deadline approached at the weekend.

Sam Allardyce slammed Spurs' transfer tactics on Thursday when it was revealed that Wanderers had rejected a "laughable" bid for the Rocket Man.

But Spurs Director of Football David Pleat retorted: "Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has twice criticised us for supposedly unsettling Michael Ricketts and then making our interest public."

He told the official Spurs website www.spurs.co.uk "Our supporters are being misled by these criticisms and that is unfair on them and on this club.

"Michael Ricketts was offered to us just before the deadline by agents acting on behalf of Bolton Wanderers. We were simply not interested in the deal suggested.

"We are always totally proper in our transfer dealings and resent any suggestions to the contrary."

Last week, Allardyce said the Spurs offer went nowhere near matching Wanderers' £10 million valuation but he feared news of the failed bid could have an unsettling affect on his top scorer.

"They never got near the valuation, which they have known for a very long time," the manager revealed. "They offered a small amount of money and players in exchange, which were no good to us. The chairman (Phil Gartside) and I found it a laughable situation.

"But they caused me to search the market for a replacement, just in case it got to a valuation my board might have wanted to take. But that never happened.

"They (Spurs) conducted their business very poorly by not keeping it between us. Michael's agent got to know about the situation and I don't know where that leaves Michael Ricketts now. I just hope he understands and gets back to where he can be - scoring goals for Bolton Wanderers.

"Spurs have paid £7 million for Robbie Keane from Leeds but never really got anywhere near that in their valuation of Michael."

Allardyce criticised Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle on the eve of the season when tabloid reports claimed Wanderers had "rejected" an £8 million bid for Ricketts. He denied any such bid had been tabled and accused the London club of leaking the story and unsettling his man.