Tottenham Hotspur’s caretaker manager, Tim Sherwood, has declared his desire to fill the position on a permanent basis.
The 44-year-old has been assigned control of the first-team since Monday’s dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas and will take charge for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Southampton.
He is determined to use the opportunity to launch a managerial career. Sherwood played for Spurs between 1999 and 2003 and has been on the club’s coaching staff since being hired by Harry Redknapp in 2008.
He was serving as technical co-ordinator until his sudden promotion following Villas-Boas’s departure and led a senior team for the first time in Wednesday’s League Cup defeat to West Ham.
The club’s chairman, Daniel Levy, has not yet given Sherwood any indication as to the likely duration of his caretaker assignment, nor confirmed that he is in contention for a permanent appointment.
Sherwood would relish a chance to discuss the job and his potential role in the club's future. He is undaunted by the fact that Tottenham have been linked with an array of more qualified managers.
Biggest name
"They are all good guys, all good managers," he said. "It has got to fit, the club and the manager, to be compatible. It's not always about the biggest name. He might have done well at another club but he might not do well at this one. It is up to the chairman and the board to make the correct decision.
“It’s not right to keep changing managers ... I know all about the football club. I played here, it’s my club. I know what the supporters want. I know the players we have got here and I know the good young talent that is coming through the club.
“I need to talk about philosophies, what we are looking to do: buy players or bring them through?”
The Ajax manager, Frank de Boer, has reportedly rejected overtures from Spurs, Michael Laudrup has announced that he does not wish to leave Swansea City and Southampton’s Mauricio Pochettino has denied that he has had contact from Spurs and insisted he is happy at St Mary’s, where he enjoys a positive relationship with the chairman, Nicola Cortese.
“As a manager what’s really important is that the sporting aspect is under my control, in terms of signings,” Pochettino said. “Without my agreement no signings go through, and those two basic things are very important for any manager.”
That might not be the case at White Hart Lane, where the technical director, Franco Baldini, is the biggest influence on transfer policy.
Sherwood, who said he would not accept serving as a number two to another manager, intimated he could have a similar effect on Tottenham to the one that Brendan Rodgers has had at Liverpool, the club whose 5-0 triumph at White Hart Lane last Sunday triggered Villas-Boas’s sacking.
“I don’t want to insult the intelligence of the punters by saying: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll turn it around in a minute.’ They ain’t got time for that. It’s about the club sticking with you. I think Brendan Rodgers is a good example of that. He’s done it at Liverpool. The sun wasn’t always shining there but it seems like he’s turned it around now and is doing very well.”
Guardian Service
