A former Premier League manager has been accused of pining for Roberto De Zerbi’s job after Tottenham’s poor start to the season.
While questions over De Zerbi’s Spurs future may be premature after just five matches, there is no doubt that the Italian is under massive pressure.
Tottenham’s performances, on the whole, have not been shocking, but the results are simply not coming, with the Lilywhites still searching for their first win of the campaign.
It is certainly not the kind of start that many expected Spurs to have after their summer business, and as the club sit in the relegation zone, one manager has been accused of piling even more pressure on De Zerbi.
The Overlap experts think Kieran McKenna wants Tottenham job
On the latest episode of The Overlap, Gary Neville and Ian Wright admitted that they found it strange to see Kieran McKenna at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the club’s 0-0 draw against Everton.
McKenna has been out of work since the summer after walking away from Ipswich Town after guiding the club back to the Premier League.
Neville believes that the 40-year-old is now pining for a bigger job and may have his sights set on taking De Zerbi’s place in the dugout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Neville said: “Did anyone read anything into Kieran McKenna being there [at the Tottenham game] on Saturday?”
Roy Keane: “What, linking him with the job? You wouldn’t go and watch…”
Ian Wright: “Yeah, but the thing is, Roy, you would. Just to be facetious, he’s gone there just to see what people think.”
Neville: “He’s left Ipswich. He’s obviously looking for a job higher up in the Premier League.”
Keane: “You wouldn’t go and watch a manager under pressure. I don’t think he’s been looking. I wouldn’t have thought.”
Wright: “Why would you go to that game? You know people are going to say that.”
Watch The Overlap panel’s discussion below:
McKenna has a long-standing connection with Spurs
What these pundits seem to be unaware of is that McKenna has a long-standing connection with Tottenham.
He spent seven years at Spurs as a youth player, but was not able to break into the senior side. The 40-year-old also started his coaching career at the North London club’s academy.
It is thus not surprising that McKenna was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it is unlikely that the Spurs hierarchy would seriously be considering a managerial change so early into the campaign.