Pundit baffled that international manager not being linked with Spurs

Mark Lawrenson has questioned why Roberto Mancini is not being linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur amidst the club’s search for a new head coach.

After Tottenham ended talks with Gennaro Gattuso and Paulo Fonseca, the North London club are seemingly back to square one in their manager search. 

While international bosses like Roberto Martinez and Gareth Southgate have also been previously mooted as potential targets for Spurs, Mancini has not been linked with the vacant role.

The former Manchester City boss has revolutionised Italy since taking over in 2018, boasting of a sensational 74.29 win percentage during his time in charge.

The Azzuri have won all three of their group games at the Euros while playing some free-flowing football and have arguably been the most impressive team in the tournament so far. 

Lawrenson insisted that the Italian should be on Tottenham’s radar, given the fact that he has Premier League experience. 

The pundit told Off the Ball: “The other thing about Mancini is why isn’t he being mentioned for the Tottenham job.

“He’s the only manager I know who’s not had a mention.

“Why hasn’t he been mentioned? Uncle Tom Cobley have all been in there. And he’s doing a fabulous job.

“He’s managed in the Premier League and we know what he’s done, so that’s a little bit of strange one.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

There are major differences between the demands of club and international football, as far as coaching is concerned. International managers often simply do not have the time to drill certain systems and are thus more reliant on man-management to get the best out of individual talents.

Italy are also benefiting from the fact that Mancini is employing a system that almost all of his main players are familiar with as they play a similar role at club level.

I believe that is one of the main reasons the Italian players look more comfortable in the system than their English or Portuguese counterparts at the Euros.

I am not sure that would necessarily translate to club level as Mancini did not pull up any trees at Inter Milan from 2014 and 2016 and while his last job in club management was at Zenit Saint Petersburg, where he had a win percentage of 48.89. So, Mancini is not an appointment that would excite me.

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