Roy Keane has given his verdict on Tottenham's decision to sack Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian was relieved of his duties on Friday despite leading the club to Europa League glory two weeks prior. Ultimately, it was Spurs' Premier League form which cost the former Celtic man his job, with the north Londoners finishing just one place above the relegation zone.
"The board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the club for a change to take place," Tottenham said in a statement. "Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games.
"This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season. At times there were extenuating circumstances - injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign. Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph."
Following the decision, former Manchester United captain Keane backed Postecoglou to return to work quickly after he helped Tottenham win their first trophy in 17 years. Speaking on ITV, Keane said: "Winning a trophy for the club was a great day for the club and obviously the big plus was getting back in the Champions League. But they’ve felt the league form, not just this season but at the end of last season wasn’t good enough.
"It’s always sad to see a manager losing his job but you’d like to think Ange will be fixed up pretty quickly because he won a trophy. The league form hasn’t been good enough but you’d think the trophy would have given him an opportunity to stay a bit longer."
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite for the vacancy, while Marco Silva and Xavi are also potential candidates. Mauricio Pochettino ruled out a return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, admitting it is "not realistic".
Speaking after his side’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Turkey in Connecticut, Pochettino told reporters: “After I left in 2019, every time that I was free, and the place of the position of the manager or head coach in Tottenham Hotspur, my name is appearing on the list.
“If you have seen the rumours, I think there are 100 coaches in the list. I think, don’t be worried about that. If something happened, for sure you will see, but we cannot talk about this type of thing, because I think today, it’s not real. It’s not realistic. Look at where I am, where we are. And the thing is, the answer is so clear, no? But we’re talking about it because it’s my club, like Newells or Espanyol.”