Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange admits he is under pressure after another desperate Premier League season, with Igor Tudor tasked with avoiding a disastrous relegation
Igor Tudor has got the chance to be at Tottenham for a “long time". Former Croatia World Cup defender Tudor has been appointed until the end of the season to try and guide Spurs away from relegation danger.
Tudor’s reign begins with the North London derby on Sunday and it is the SEVENTH time he has taken a job mid-season which has made him seen as a managerial Red Adair.
But Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange says this time Tudor will be in with a chance of getting the job on a permanent basis if he does well enough in the next three months.
Lange said: “We interviewed a few candidates. Igor impressed us very, very much in the interview. Obviously, we also managed to take references of Igor. He comes in with very big experience at the highest level in football.
“As a player, playing for a very, very big club, one of the biggest clubs in the world in Juve. Of course he was part of this very good generation of Croatia national team in the late 90s.
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“He has shown the capabilities of coming into clubs around this time, February, March, and also big clubs, and made an immediate performance impact.
“You need to come into build relationships but of course assess the style of the club immediately. He has shown that with great success, not only once but a few times, to come into that.
“That is one of the reasons why we believe he is the best candidate here now but of course also with his reputation and what he’s done in his career, of course, if things go well, he could be here for a long time.”
Tottenham fans were singing former boss Mauricio Pochettino's name even before Thomas Frank was sacked and he is clearly the crowd favourite.
But current USA boss Pochettino would not be available until after the World Cup and he would also have to contend with a different Tottenham from when he left with the team struggling to compete.
Ex-Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou questioned the club’s ambition and “To Dare Is To Do” motto because they have been reluctant to push for the biggest signings.
Lange, who reports into chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, said: “A couple of things. I’m not going to sit here and start commenting on an ex-employee of the club’s comments.
“I think Vinai in his notes earlier this year, or the latter part of last year, made it known in the match day programme that we, as a club, need to grow our wage bill to be competitive.
“We were also linked, I think Thomas commented a little bit on players in January, and it was definitely not because of a lack of emotion from our side or efforts from our side that those players are not here today.”
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Lange accepted his position is certain to be under the spotlight after this season’s poor results while he also warned whoever is next that entertaining football will be “high on the list” of job requirements.
Lange added: “I think when you work for a big club like Tottenham, then pressure, or where you want to call it, is part of it. I’m sitting here today because I want to take responsibility for the club, everything that comes into football. Part of being here is expectations.
“We are also a club with a rich history of having some of the best offensive players in the world and having a very particular style of play that resonates with the history, resonates with the fans. Of course that is something that is important for us here at the club.”