Tim Sherwood insists there is a chance he will be Tottenham Hostpur manager next season but, after a week in which Ajax claimed that the London club have inquired about the availability of their manager, Frank de Boer, Sherwood is finding it increasingly difficult to convince even himself.
Tottenham denounced Ajax’s claim as “wholly inaccurate” but there has been no public or private reaffirmation of faith in Sherwood, who was given an 18-month contract in December after replacing Andre Villas-Boas.
Sherwood, for the first time looking almost resigned to his fate, admitted he was disturbed by the De Boer intrigue. “I wasn’t shocked at first because I just thought it was speculation but when Ajax came out and said they were approached and Tottenham come out on top of that and say they weren’t, then obviously it doesn’t sit well,” said the 45-year-old, who maintains he has been given no indication by his employers that they are planning to oust him.
It is an uncomfortable situation for the manager, who is becoming weary of being asked about his position when the decision is not in his hands. "Why don't you ask the people who can give you the answers?" he told journalists when asked again whether he will be in charge next season.
Clarification
When he was then asked why he had not sought clarification himself directly from the chairman, Daniel Levy, he replied: "Because he would say, what he has said to me previously, 'at the end of the season we will sit down and talk about it'.
“So I’m hopefully still out to tender and if I was when I asked him a month ago, then results have been good since. And if we win the next two I’ve got to have a chance.”
De Boer’s twin brother, Ronald, has already spoken about how the Ajax manager could “build something” at White Hart Lane. Sherwood quipped talking about future plans may be more in a prospective manager’s interests rather than drawing attention to the good points of the current managerial setup.
"I don't think he is too interested in looking at what I am doing already because if he did then he would see he has got a hard act to follow," said Sherwood. "If you are bringing in managers who have never managed in this league, it is like bringing in players who have never played here. It takes a lot of adapting to. There is a lot to be said for someone who knows the league and knows what is required as it is not a sprint, it is a marathon."
Guardian Service
