Gus Poyet has admitted he expected Tottenham Hotspur to look elsewhere when they made their latest managerial call with Igor Tudor.
Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping their decision to make Igor Tudor interim manager until the end of the season proves the right one as they battle to stay in the Premier League.
So far, it has been far from the perfect start for the interim boss, who was handed a swift reality check in his first game in charge following a 4-1 defeat at the hands of north London rivals Arsenal.
But such are the levels in the Premier League, and Tudor will no doubt be looking to learn from his first outing as he aims to keep Spurs in the English top flight.
Tottenham manager call: Gus Poyet expected Tim Sherwood over Igor Tudor at Spurs
Former Tottenham midfielder Gus Poyet has now questioned the Lilywhites’ decision to go for Tudor as interim manager.
Speaking to BetWright, Poyet explained that he had expected his former club to appoint someone with Premier League experience, naming Tim Sherwood as the profile he anticipated instead of Igor Tudor.
He first admitted his surprise at the appointment, saying: “I was surprised to see Spurs appoint Igor Tudor, given the precarious situation they are in. Not because of his ability as a coach, but more the fact that the club are in a troubling position.
“I was expecting someone with a lot of experience coaching in the Premier League to be given the job – someone like Tim Sherwood, who has experience at the club and in the league.”
Poyet then reflected on Tudor’s touchline reaction during the north London derby and the scale of the task ahead, adding: “Tudor looked shocked on Sunday, as if he had realised what he has got himself into at Tottenham – it looked like a reality check. Because Arsenal beat them in every aspect of the game, which I do not think he was expecting.
“But now I think he would admit he has got a harder job than what he first anticipated. After watching the derby, you can see the team are in big trouble and they need their injured players to return as soon as possible.”
Spurs must respond as Igor Tudor faces mentality test
Tudor’s time at Tottenham has been brief, but it did not take long for the former Juventus manager to realise that the problems at Spurs are significant.
During the clash against Arsenal, Tudor was seen passing instructions down to Micky van de Ven, asking him to push up, but those instructions were ignored by his captain on the day.
Addressing that mentality will be key for the 47-year-old if he is to secure Spurs’ Premier League status, which he claimed is 100 per cent guaranteed following his appointment.