Tottenham are preparing to make a move for Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as pressure continues to mount on Ange Postecoglou, who is in danger of losing his job.
Spurs suffered a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Thursday and the result leaves them 14th in the Premier League table, out of every tournament except the Europa League.
Postecoglou was jeered by Tottenham supporters with chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ before he goaded them back by cupping his ears in their direction after Pape Matar Sarr’s goal was disallowed.
In his post-match interview, Postecoglou said that he wasn’t taking a swipe at the Tottenham fans, but ‘wanted to hear them cheer’.
“Jesus mate, it’s incredible how things get interpreted,” Postecoglou insisted. “We’d just scored, I just wanted to hear them cheer. Because we’d been through a tough time, and I thought it was a cracking goal. I wanted them to get really excited.
“I felt at that point we could potentially go on and win the game. I just felt momentum was on our [side]. It doesn’t bother me, it’s not the first time they’ve booed my substitutions or my decisions, that’s fine, they’re allowed to do that. But we’d just scored a goal, just scored an equaliser, I was just hoping we could get some excitement.
“If people want to read into that, that somehow I’m trying to make a point about something, like I said, we’d been through a tough time, but I just felt there was a bit of a momentum shift there. If they get really behind the lads, I thought we had the momentum to finish on top of them.”
Andoni Iraola tops Tottenham’s manager shortlist – sources
TEAMtalk understands that Tottenham have identified Bournemouth boss Iraola as their top target to replace Postecoglou.
The signs are not good for Postecoglou but the likelihood of him being sacked while they are still in the Europa League is low, as he tries to make good on his promise that he ‘always’ wins trophies in his second season with his clubs.
Tottenham still have a chance of lifting the Europa League, which would grant them entry into next season’s Champions League, but they will have to play much better than they have been when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals.
Iraola, meanwhile, has done a fantastic job with Bournemouth so far. He was appointed Cherries boss in the summer of 2023 and guided them to a 12th-place finish in the Premier League last season.
This season looks set to be even better, with Bournemouth currently sitting just six points away from a European qualification spot, in 10th.
We reported on January 19th that Iraola is one of the managers Tottenham have taken a shine to, and that remains the case, as the London club’s performances haven’t got any better since.
Sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Tottenham view Iraola as an ‘elite’ young coach with whom they could build a Premier League-winning side.
They would have to sell the project to the Spaniard but if he gives the green light to Tottenham, Bournemouth will find it very difficult to keep him.
Sources also state that Brentford manager Thomas Frank is one to watch for Spurs, while Fulham boss Marco Silva and ex-Borussia Dortmund man Edin Terzic have also been looked at.
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