A former Spurs boss has now thrown his name into the mix as Tottenham Hotspur begin search for a new manager following Thomas Frank’s dismissal.
Thomas Frank’s sacking will come as a surprise to few, given how poorly Tottenham Hotspur have performed under him in the last eight months in the Premier League.
Last season, Spurs finished 17th in the league but still managed a piece of silverware under Ange Postecoglou, but that was enough to keep the Australian in the Tottenham dugout.
Frank, on the other hand, was on course for a worse finish than Postecoglou, as he left Tottenham in 16th place, with three points separating Spurs from Nottingham Forest in 17th and five points the difference between them and 18th-place West Ham United.
After delaying the inevitable, attention now turns to the future for Spurs as they are set to spend the next couple of days securing a new manager.
Tottenham interim role discussed as Tim Sherwood names candidate
Talk of an interim manager being the route Spurs will take following Frank’s departure has been doing the rounds.
There are several interim options Tottenham could consider ahead of their next game, which is eleven days from now, and the Spurs faithful have even begun naming their favourite temporary boss.
Former Tottenham man Tim Sherwood has now named who he thinks will be the likely option, while also throwing his hat into the mix, explaining his thinking while speaking to Sky Sports.
He said: “I genuinely believe they are going to give it to Johnny Heitinga. He is a man who is there already; he has had experience as a manager, did not work out great for him obviously, at Ajax.
“But his being with Tottenham in the Premier League is a great opportunity for someone who is not in a job to go in there.
“It is a club that I love, I know a lot about it, I have spent many years there in different capacities and you know it needs someone to give it a lift at the moment, whether that is me or whoever they decide to bring in, they have got a tough job on their hands. Because let us face it in the summer it is going to be Pochettino.
“It will be impossible, or almost impossible, for Tottenham to look beyond Mauricio Pochettino, with the clamour from the Tottenham support to bring the man back to the club.
“So, whoever goes in there is just going in for 12 games or 13, whatever it is, plus that Champions League run. There is no future at the club for that person. So there will be very few who would want to put their hands up or put themselves up for offer for 12 games.”
Is Tim Sherwood a good fit for Tottenham?
Sherwood could very much be a name that Tottenham consider as they look to decide in the coming days.
The former Spurs midfielder has had two stints at the club in a managerial capacity, once in a permanent role and another as a caretaker.
In those two stints, he managed a total of 28 games – he recorded 14 wins, ten defeats and four draws, with an average of 1.65 points per game.
Spurs need to avoid relegation, which is no easy task for any manager, but having someone who knows the club in and out could very much be what is required to turn things around.
Michael Carrick at Manchester United is a good example of such, and perhaps Sherwood could have a similar impact on Tottenham.