David Pleat will step down as director of football and a board member of Tottenham Hotspur at the end of July, the English premier league club has said.

Spurs also confirmed on Wednesday the appointment of Frank Arnesen, technical chief at PSV Eindhoven, as sports director from July 1 in a shake-up designed to give the club a continental style of management.

The former Danish international, whose move was announced by his Dutch club on Tuesday, will be responsible for the scouting, youth development and transfers at White Hart Lane.

The 47-year-old held a similar job for 10 years at PSV and will work alongside a first-team manager, yet to be appointed, who is expected to focus on coaching and team selection.

Pleat, who was Spurs boss from 1986-87, took over as acting manager after Glenn Hoddle was sacked last September and led the north London club away from the danger of relegation.

However their 14th place finish was a disappointment and the club said all season it would have a high profile manager for the next campaign.

Club chairman Daniel Levy told the Spurs website: "For many years now, not just for the time I have been here, this club has failed to achieve a league position commensurate with the financial investment that has been made in the team.

"It is important that we have stability and a consistent strategy for first team and youth development.

"I firmly believe that this can be best served under a new continental structure and that Frank Arnesen is immensely qualified to oversee this for us.

"This decision is the result of a major review and it would be wrong to align it simply to this last season when David took over as caretaker manager."

Arnesen, who has helped PSV secure four Dutch league titles and make regular appearances in the Champions League, told the website: "A club of this stature should be competing regularly for honours and that is what we shall strive to achieve."

A mid-table club for the past decade, in which the 1999 League Cup was their only trophy, Spurs have been living in the shadow of their north London rivals Arsenal, winners of three Leagues title and three FA Cups since 1998.