Europa League not good enough as Spurs sack Sherwood
LONDON: Tottenham, to no-one’s surprise, have parted company with manager Tim Sherwood five months into his 18-month contract.
Sherwood took charge last December after the departure of Andre Villas-Boas. The 45-year-old led the north London club to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, ensuring qualification for the Europa League, but had indicated he was under no illusions about his future.
Chairman Daniel Levy, in a statement, said: “We appointed Tim mid-season as someone who knew both the players and the club. We agreed an 18-month contract with a break clause at the end of the season and we have now exercised that option.”
Louis Van Gaal (Holland), Frank De Boer (Ajax) and Mauricio Pochettino (Southampton) have all been linked with the post.
Sherwood has stated many times that he would never wish to return to his development role at Spurs. He had also compared his position to that of a babysitter and a supply teacher but did guide the club to victories over Manchester United at Old Trafford, ending the season with a win percentage of 59 per cent.
Statement
The club’s statement added: “Moving forward, now the season is over, we shall embark on the process of finding a new head coach.
“We have a talented squad and exciting young players coming through. We need to build on this season, develop our potential and inspire the kind of performances that we associate with our great club.”
Having never managed at the top level, Sherwood was installed initially as interim replacement for Villas-Boas, with a League Cup exit to local rivals West Ham his first game in charge. A 5-1 home defeat to eventual champions Manchester City and a 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea saw Sherwood question the commitment of a number of his players.
He always claimed the uncertainty over his position was making the job harder and, as the season drew to a close, even his players started suggesting Sherwood’s tenure was coming to an end.
He is the Premier manager out of work since last weekend following Pepi Mel at West Bromwich.
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