Ange Postecoglou remains under pressure as Tottenham struggle for form ahead of a crucial Europa League quarter-final, and three potential candidates are on the London club’s radar, TEAMtalk understands.
Spurs lost 4-2 to a struggling Wolves side on Sunday and the result has left them 15th in the Premier League table, on track for their worst league finish since the 1993/94 campaign.
Postecoglou has previously stated that he “always” wins trophies in his second season with his clubs, which is accurate to date. His final hope to fulfill that promise, and maintain his record, lies in the Europa League. Tottenham head to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night with the aggregate score standing at 1-1. Winning that competition would also grant Spurs entry into the Champions League.
Many supporters are calling for Tottenham to sack Postecoglou. Sources acknolwedge a summer change is realistic but the focus for now is on the Europa League.
The Spurs hierarchy are planning to conduct a detailed end-of-season review into all aspects of the club and Postecoglou’s position will be looked at as part of this. Until now, the club have tried not to do the latter during the season.
Daniel Levy does recognise Postecoglou has been dealt a difficult hand in terms of injuries this season. And Spurs tried to back him in the January window, including landing a key target in Mathys Tel, a transfer Levy handled personally. Now, Postecoglou needs a strong end to the campaign to turn things around.
Like all well run clubs, Tottenham have been succession planning in case they need to change manager. At the end of the season they will have a big decision to make, and that may be the case even if Postecoglou achieve success in the Europa League, although clearly winning the tournament will help his cause.
Tottenham interested in three Premier League managers
Another reason why Tottenham are more likely to make a decision on Postecoglou at the end of the season is that the manager targets they’re looking at are not available now.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola would be high in their thinking if they part ways with Postecoglou. But TEAMtalk understands that Bournemouth’s owner, Bill Foley, has had a meeting with Iraola in the past two weeks to discuss his future and goals, and further face to face talks are planned thsi month. The Cherries are desperate to keep the Spanish coach at the club and optimistic they can persuade him to extend his stay.
The other names in the frame for Tottenham should Postecologu depart are Fulham’s Marco Silva and Brentford’s Thomas Frank.
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has also been linked with Tottenham in the past, but there has been no concrete approaches to the English coach as yet.
Meanwhile, Spurs’ soon-to-be new CEO Vinai Venkatesham, formerly of Arsenal, only starts his role in the summer. Venkatesham is set to have a significant say in Spurs’ strategy going forward alongside Levy.
Succession planning does not always mean a managerial change will be made, but it’s fair to say that Spurs are well prepared if Postecoglou does depart, which remains a realistic possibility.
The idea Postecoglou could depart if Spurs get knocked out to Frankfurt on Thursday is less likely. Spurs would likely have to again put Ryan Mason in charge on a caretaker basis until the summer, as he did when both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were sacked, and this is a scenario the club would prefer to avoid.
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