Jacques Santini has quit as manager of Tottenham Hotspur after just 13 games in charge, the English Premier League club announced on Friday.

A Spurs statement said the former France manager is returning to France for "personal reasons".

Martin Jol, Santini's assistant at White Hart Lane, will take charge of the first team for the home match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday.

"My time at Tottenham has been memorable and it is with deep regret that I take my leave," Santini said.

"Private issues in my personal life have arisen which caused my decision.

"I have therefore requested to return to France. I very much hope that the wonderful fans will respect my decision. I should like to thank Frank Arnesen and (chairman) Daniel Levy for their understanding. I wish the club and the supporters all the best for the season."

Arnesen, the club's sporting director, said the club respected Santini's decision.

"OBVIOUSLY DISAPPOINTED"

"We are obviously disappointed that Jacques is leaving us," he said. "We fully respect his decision. I can assure you that the club will act swiftly to minimise the impact of Jacques' departure.

"Our priority is to ensure that this season's performance remains unaffected by this move. I shall make a further statement on Monday clarifying our position. We wish Jacques well."

Tottenham announced that Santini would be their new coach in June and the 53-year-old arrived at White Hart Lane after his French side slipped out of Euro 2004 championship in Portugal with a disappointing quarter-final defeat by Greece.

His appointment was seen as the final piece in a new managerial structure at the under-achieving club which has been in the shadow of north London rivals Arsenal for more than a decade.

After the mediocrity of former managers Glenn Hoddle and David Pleat, there was genuine optimism amongst Tottenham fans that Santini could create a team capable of closing the gap on fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.

Tottenham's starting line-up against Liverpool on the opening game of the season was barely recognisable with the likes of Cameroon international Thimothee Atouba, Sweden's Erik Edman, veteran Moroccan Nourredine Naybet and Pedro Mendes, a Champions League winner with Porto, all making their debuts.

That encouraging 1-1 draw was followed by a dogged 1-0 victory at Newcastle United and after another narrow victory over Birmingham City, Tottenham were challenging at the top end of the table.

A first defeat of the season, 1-0 at home to Manchester United, was followed by a 1-0 victory at Everton, but since then the club's league form has fallen away.

Despite boasting the second best defensive record in the Premier League, the goals dried up and three consecutive league defeats, with just one goal scored in that time, has left the club in the bottom half of the table.

However the majority of the success-starved Tottenham fans were still backing Santini despite last Saturday's woeful 2-0 defeat at London rivals Fulham.

Santini built his reputation as a coach with Olympique Lyon, steering them to their first French title in 2001-02.

After France's humiliating exit at the 2002 World Cup finals, Santini was chosen as the man to replace sacked Roger Lemerre.

Under his command France won the Confederations Cup and qualified with a 100 percent record for the Euro 2004 finals.

But after Santini announced that he would be leaving to join Tottenham after the championship, France performed poorly in Portugal with Santini's defensive tactics called into question.

Those same cautious tactics have tested the patience of Tottenham fans, although with more than two thirds of the season still to go, many believed Santini would have eventually been a success in English football.