JUANDE RAMOS has already run out of ideas. Now he is rapidly running out of time.

Right now, it seems the Tottenham chief’s only insurance against the axe is the prohibitive cost of his pay-off.

Yet even the protection of a £100,000-a-week contract which still has three years to run will not keep him safe forever.

For Ramos has presided over Spurs’ worst start to a season since 1912 — the year the Titanic sank.

And right now, the club are going down with all hands on deck.

Geovanni’s magnificent early free-kick was enough to propel Phil Brown’s Hull up to third in the Premier League and leave Tottenham cast adrift at the foot of the table.

Putting the boot into Spurs right now is a bit like kicking a sick puppy. As The Smiths once sang, that joke isn’t funny any more.

In terms of effort and persistence, Spurs could not be faulted. They ran themselves into the ground in pursuit of their first league win.

Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Chris Gunter bombarded the Hull penalty area with crosses just begging to be stuck away.

But just as at Arsenal last week, the visitors defended heroically and repelled everything thrown at them by an increasingly desperate Spurs.

Tottenham were a team crying out for the kind of inspiration once provided by Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe.

Instead, they were left with the sheer mediocrity of Roman Pavlyuchenko, Fraizer Campbell and Darren Bent.

Tottenham’s money men might have banked £60million from the sales of last season’s front three. But they have been left totally bankrupt in terms of attacking talent.

Russian striker Pavlyuchenko once again looked confused and slightly disinterested before hobbling off in the 34th minute. Replacement Bent briefly threatened when he beat keeper Boaz Myhill in a race for the ball but pulled his 57th-minute shot just wide of the far post. Apart from that, he was totally dominated by Hull centre-backs Michael Turner and Kamil Zayatte.

Even Campbell, given a rousing reception by the Hull fans for helping their team win promotion last season, was utterly ineffective.

Yet Tottenham were not completely toothless. Bale’s 21st-minute free-kick was touched against the bar by Myhill and Jonathan Woodgate’s 42nd-minute effort was deflected against a post by Turner.

But it was a poor return for all their possession and pressure. Ramos did not exactly help his cause when he hauled off the lively Lennon 17 minutes from the time.

That earned him a right earful from the disgruntled Spurs fans yet the expected barrage never materialised at the final whistle.

Tottenham fans have waited so long to since their last home league win that they have almost given up.

For the record, their last three points at White Hart Lane came back on March 22 against Portsmouth. Of 25 league games this year, Spurs have won just five.Tottenham have two points this term. Even Derby had managed four at this stage of last season — and they ended up going down with the lowest total in Premier League history.

This was not just about Spurs’ inadequacies but the continuing efficiency of a Hull team who have already exceeded all expectations in their first season in the top division.

Even boss Brown would never have predicted his newly-promoted team would be 12 points clear of Spurs by the beginning of October with Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City also trailing.

The difference between Spurs and Hull was every man in Brown’s team knew exactly where he was playing and what he was supposed to be doing.

Contrast that to £17million David Bentley, who started on the bench and appeared totally bewildered when he came on . . . at right-back.

Luka Modric looked just as forlorn as he struggled to make an impact in the middle of the park and failed to live up to his hefty price tag.

How ironic, then, that Spurs should be undone by a player Hull picked up on a free transfer.

Brazilian international Geovanni had already given notice of his ability with last week’s 25-yard screamer against Arsenal.

Knowing what he was planning as he lined up his ninth-minute free-kick was one thing. Stopping it was another proposition.

Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes did not even move as Geovanni’s 30-yard effort whipped over the defensive wall and buried itself into the top corner of the net.

Hull almost had a second in the 36th minute when former Spurs man Dean Marney hit the post.

Yet with their defence in such domineering form and Tottenham abject up front, one goal was always going to be enough for Hull.

Spurs directors might be adamant they will not be panicked into hasty decisions. But how much more of this will they tolerate before they pull the trapdoor on Ramos?

Meanwhile, his predecessor Martin Jol sits top of the Bundesliga after Hamburg beat Energie Cottbus.

Just a thought.

STAR MAN: Michael Turner (Hull)

TOTTENHAM: Gomes 8, Gunter 7 (Bentley 5), Corluka 6, Woodgate 5, Bale 7, Lennon 5 (Dos Santos 3), Zokora 5, Modric 5, Jenas 6, Pavlyuchenko 2 (Bent 6), Campbell 3. Subs not used: Sanchez, Dawson, O’Hara, Assou-Ekotto. Booked: Bent, Campbell, Jenas, Lennon.

HULL: Myhill 8, McShane 7, Zayatte 7, Turner 8, Dawson 7, Boateng 7, Ashbee 7, Geovanni 8 (Halmosi 5), Marney 6, Cousin 6 (Mendy 5), King 7 (Folan 6). Subs not used: Duke, Hughes, Garcia, Ricketts. Booked: Ashbee, Boateng.