Sunderland will return to Premier League action when they host Spurs on the other side of the international break.
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Igor Tudor is reportedly set to leave his role as interim manager of Tottenham Hotspur - and a former Newcastle United boss could be in charge by the time the Premier League strugglers visit Sunderland next month.
The former Juventus and Croatia defender took charge of the North London club following Thomas Frank’s departure last month - but has struggled to make a positive impact as Spurs continue to look nervously over their shoulder at the Premier League relegation zone. Since marking his managerial bow with a 4-1 home defeat against arch rivals Arsenal, Tudor is yet to win any of his five Premier League fixtures in charge and has collected just a solitary point as his side battled to a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
A single win came with a 3-2 home victory against La Liga club Atletico Madrid in the second leg of a Champions League round of 16 tie - but that was not enough to take Spurs into the quarter final after Tudor’s side suffered a 5-2 defeat in the first leg in the Spanish capital. Any positivity caused by last week’s win against Diego Simeone’s men quickly evaporated as Spurs marked their return to Premier League action with a dismal display in a 3-0 home defeat against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest that has left Spurs just one point and one place above the relegation zone.
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TeamTalk have now reported Tudor is expected to leave Spurs ‘by mutual consent’ after what they describe as ‘weeks of internal discussions’. The report also reveals there was an internal agreement that a change would be made if Spurs suffered a defeat in Sunday’s home game with Forest. Crucially, the report also states Tudor is ready to step away from the role following the sad passing of his father Mario.
Viable options
Spurs have been working to find a replacement and a shortlist has been drawn up that includes former Monaco manager Adi Hutter and former Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton. Both potential candidates are said to be ‘viable options’ to step in and that could mean the latter making an emotional return to a club he represented over 300 times during his playing career before spending 14 years as a reserve team manager, first team coach, caretaker manager and assistant manager.
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Hughton departed from Spurs in February 2008 when he was appointed as first team coach at Newcastle and he was handed a permanent role as Magpies boss just over a year later after spell as interim manager. Hughton remains the last manager to lead Newcastle to a home win in a Tyne-Wear derby meeting against Sunderland and that victory came back in October 2010.
Should Spurs go through with a change, the new interim manager’s first game in charge will come at Sunderland on Sunday, April 12 as the Black Cats look to increase their visitors relegation concerns and boost their own hopes of securing a place in European competition.