Tottenham Hotspur would be taking a huge risk appointing Mauricio Pochettino as manager after the United States’ World Cup campaign, says Bobby Zamora.
Pochettino is the favourite to be named Tottenham’s next permanent manager following the sacking of Thomas Frank.
Spurs chasing new manager after sacking Frank
Frank was dismissed with the Londoners on a torrid run of two wins from 17 Premier League matches, leaving them 16th in the table.
Former Juventus boss Igor Tudor has been placed in interim charge until the end of the season and the Croatian staying on permanently is viewed as unlikely, unless he somehow manages to win this season’s Champions League.
Not only with the bookmakers, but Pochettino is also the favourite among Spurs supporters to succeed Frank.
MORE: How Arsenal fan Frank ‘baffled’ Spurs players, gave one star ‘preferential treatment’ and almost left in November
The Argentine managed the club between May 2014 and November 2019, leading them to a second-place finish in the Premier League and the Champions League final six months before his sacking.
He is comfortably the most successful Spurs boss in the Premier League era and most fans are open to him returning.
The biggest hitch is that Pochettino isn’t currently available as he is preparing for this summer’s World Cup as United States head coach.
He will lead the host nation and might not be able to take over at Spurs until July, depending on how far the USA progress. Their final group game is on June 25, which would be the earliest Pochettino could leave his post.
Not only would the 53-year-old be a late appointment from a Spurs perspective, but speculation about his future will hardly benefit him or his players at the World Cup.
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Why Pochettino return is a huge risk for Spurs
Former Spurs striker Zamora thinks the USMNT hierarchy will demand Pochettino is focused on his current job and that ‘taking his eye off the ball’ could cost them at this summer’s tournament.
“He can’t start until after the World Cup. If you are his nation, you are saying ‘I don’t want you taking your eye off the ball’,” Zamora told best betting sites (via CBS Sports).
“I know you’re not full-time, every single day in the office, but I would be saying I don’t want you taking your eye off the ball.
“Although he’s the fans’ favourite and they want him there, it’s going to be a tricky one.
“I think the likes of Poch would want time, a good pre-season. Whoever goes in there, they will want a whole pre-season.
“It’s hard because of the World Cup. All of these players aren’t going to get back until the end of July if a few of the boys get quite far. They will want a break, they will want two weeks off at least. It’s a tricky job for anyone.
“Poch obviously had a great time there. It didn’t end in the greatest way, but I can understand why the fans want him back.”
Asked if Pochettino will have other options when his contract expires this summer, Zamora added: “He will. It’s a big club, though, a huge club. He has got fond memories there as well.
“It’s a huge club, it really is. The infrastructure of everything is second to none.
“It’s just that final part of the puzzle that they haven’t been able to solve over the last six or seven years. It just hasn’t clicked and found that understanding. I don’t understand what it is that is going to make it happen.”
Meanwhile, former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood says Pochettino being approached to replace Frank is a sure thing.
Sherwood told Sky Sports: “We know who is coming in – it will be Pochettino, 100 per cent. I do not think the club will be brave enough to turn to anyone else.
“There are other options out there but the pressure on another man getting that job and losing two games, and then the crowd saying ‘You had a chance to bring Poch back’. It is impossible for them to look elsewhere.”