Tim Sherwood has issued a stark warning to whoever takes over from Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur, urging the next man in charge to understand the club’s true objectives before stepping into the dugout.
Following his continental triumph with Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League, Postecoglou made a rather bold statement in the same light as his second-season promise, declaring: “Season three is always better than season two”.
Fast forward a few weeks into the future, and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has axed the main character even before the show began and is now in search of a new cast, as the club opts for a fresh start despite Postecoglou’s success in Europe.
Several Tottenham fans have been left frustrated following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou, with many confused as to why the club would part ways with a manager who ended a 17-year trophy drought at N17.
Tim Sherwood sends message to next Tottenham manager
In Tottenham’s statement following Postecoglou’s sacking, a record of 78 points from his 66 Premier League games spelt the end for the Australian, who led Spurs to their worst-ever domestic campaign after finishing 17th, losing 22 league games.
Focus now swiftly turns to the appointment of a new manager, and former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood, who is no stranger to receiving the sack himself after being dismissed by Daniel Levy, has now sent a message to the incoming head coach.
Sherwood has asked Postecoglou’s successor to be sure of what they are getting into, emphasising that they need to understand the objective at Tottenham, which he believes is not centred around winning trophies but about being consistently competitive in the Premier League.
MORE SPURS STORIES
He told Sky Sports: “I am not surprised to be perfectly honest. It does not mean to say I agree with the decision, I just felt that having lost 22 games in the Premier League, and finished in the position where Tottenham did, I thought that it would not have sat well with the hierarchy there.
“Even though they went on and won a major European competition and qualified for the Champions League in the meantime, and that look there after the Brighton game – I think that was the writing on the wall there. When I saw Daniel’s face, I thought you have got to be really careful what you wish for.
“I was worried for the Tottenham fans because the new man going there – what is the objective? Because the objective is not to win trophies obviously.
“The objective is to be more competitive in the Premier League, which is the bread and butter, where people pay for their season tickets and they go and watch it week in, week out. That seems to be the objective of the board.
“You need to be quite clear when you are going in there, whoever it may be. There are a lot of managers being tied around, they need to make sure they know what the objective is and what success looks like.”
Postecoglou decision shows expectations for next Spurs manager
Of course, Tottenham need to compete in the Premier League and not rely on the odd cup win here and there.
The Tottenham hierarchy perhaps believes that the quality in the squad is way better than their league finish, as only the three promoted sides from last season were worse than Spurs.
The decision of the board, while it might not be popular amongst the fan base, has taken into account not just a single season, but two, with the club making it clear that they did not want to make a decision based on emotions.
The next manager coming into the club needs to know that there are standards that will simply not be compromised and that Tottenham must be able to compete on all fronts respectably.