Could Tottenham Hotspur soon part ways with head coach Igor Tudor?
Sign up to our newsletter for the most distinctive football content delivered direct to your inbox
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to 3 Added Minutes, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Tottenham Hotspur made the decision to part ways with head coach Thomas Frank last month with the club hurtling towards the relegation zone, but their decision to bring in Igor Tudor as his replacement has not worked wonders thus far.
The Lilywhites have lost three matches from three under Tudor and as per multiple emerging reports, the Croatian is already beginning to come under pressure from the board – who are sticking by him for now.
The Telegraph report that Tudor has four matches to turn things around and save his job in north London – including Spurs’ two-legged Champions League last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid, a trip to Anfield this weekend and the monumental subsequent clash with relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.
Should Spurs fail to pick up a victory in particularly the two league games, they might find themselves in the relegation zone by the time Tudor is dismissed from his post. Could a club legend be the man to save them?
Robbie Keane would be Tottenham’s ideal Tudor replacement
Multiple candidates to replace Tudor should he leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have emerged, with one name standing out as the ideal man to turn to – in the shape of Robbie Keane.
In dire times like these, calling on a club legend is often the way forward and Keane will feel that he has a point to prove. The Irishman scored 122 goals in 306 appearances for Spurs and there are few around who understand the club better, particularly as he was part of the Spurs generation which rose from mid-table battlers to European challengers and also won the League Cup in 2007/08, one of only two major trophies won by Spurs this century.
Keane is currently head coach of Hungarian club Ferencváros, who are sat top of the league with a Europa League last 16 tie against Braga to look forward to. Keane has been a success in his short managerial career so far but has previously expressed a desire to lead a team in the Premier League. Could this be his perfect opportunity to make a name for himself?
Keane would be taking a career-defining risk - but it could pay off
Truthfully speaking, for whomever replaces Tudor or even for the Croatian himself if he stays, the Spurs job this season will prove a defining moment in any head coach’s career. Nobody wants to be the person who took Tottenham down for the first time in 49 years – but it could do a young coach like Keane a whole lot of good to be known as the man who kept them up, too.
Other named candidates such as Roberto De Zerbi would likely only join with assurances of a long-term contract, while the Italian might decide to avoid this fire-fighting situation entirely in fear of his own reputation. For Keane, this might be the best chance he will get to manage at a top club, or it could just be a stepping stone to even bigger and better things.
One thing which is for sure is that if former star striker Keane keeps Spurs in the Premier League, he will never be forgotten by the fans. For a man who has taken an unusual route earning his managerial stripes in Israel and Hungary, you would not put it past him to take a career-defining risk in north London. But one which could certainly pay off.
While he would be unlikely to arrive with long-term assurances and might ultimately be replaced by dream candidate Mauricio Pochettino in July no matter what happens in his weeks in charge, keep Spurs up and Keane would no doubt be in the conversation for lower Premier League jobs or high-end jobs in the Championship. There is certainly room to see how this might benefit the 45-year-old in the long run.
For Spurs, to bring in Keane would mean bringing in a capable young coach who knows what it feels like to lead a winning side – unlike sacked West Brom boss and former Spurs interim Ryan Mason – and has not spent an extended period outside the game, as have candidates mentioned in the media such as Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood.
Should the worst come to the worst and Spurs find themselves in an even worse situation come the international break, bringing in Keane to be their saving grace might just be the best decision the club can make.