Tottenham have increased the pressure on Premiership rivals Blackburn to sell skipper Tim Sherwood by increasing their offer to around £4 million.

The new bid is sure to test Rovers' resolve and also confirm to Sherwood just how determined Spurs are to bring him to London - even though Blackburn's chief executive John Williams insists: "They are wasting their time. We want to keep Sherwood and all our established senior players."

Spurs, in desperate need of a physical, competitive presence in midfield, opened the bidding for 29-year-old Sherwood at the weekend at £3 million.

Blackburn manager Roy Hodgson, whose side face Tottenham at White Hart Lane next Wednesday, said today that the figure was "ludicrously low" and added: "We are not interested in selling him."