Next Tottenham manager: 4 caretaker options to steady the ship before Pochettino’s return | OneFootball

Thomas Frank’s days in the Tottenham job are surely numbered, following their latest dismal defeat on home soil – this time around 2-1 to relegation-battling London rivals West Ham United.

The result could well be the final nail in the coffin for Frank, with fan opinion having long since turned on the Dane. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

There are some big-name coaches available on the market after all this season’s upheaval, but convincing an elite-level coach to join the club in their current predicament would be difficult.

Could the stars be aligning for Mauricio Pochettino to make a romantic return to the club he loves so much? He’s consistently made clear his openness to one day coming back, while he’ll be available again in the summer – his contract with the United States expires after they host the World Cup.

“Talking about the Premier League, and we are in London…” Pochettino responded when asked by the BBC what’s his ultimate ambition.

“To win the Premier League and the Champions League. We were so close in Tottenham. I want to achieve this. I am still young, I have the energy, experience and motivation to try in the future.”

We’ve taken a look at four potential caretaker appointments that could steady the ship at Tottenham until Pochettino becomes available in the summer.

Ryan Mason

The clear and obvious candidate.

Mason has twice before served as a caretaker coach, memorably taking charge of Tottenham for the 2021 League Cup final following Jose Mourinho’s sacking, and is available after being relieved of his duties at West Brom last month.

The 34-year-old’s unsuccessful spell at the Hawthorns is unlikely to set hearts racing were he to return, but he remains a popular and well-liked figure at the club. His appointment would, if nothing else, see an uptick in vibes.

Last time out, succeeding the outrageously forgettable Cristian Stellini, he immediately set about doing something a bit more positive and front-footed – exactly what this current situation is crying out for.

John Heitinga

Heitinga’s appointment recalls the return of Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United last season.

He served alongside Erik ten Hag for a few awkward months before getting the caretaker gig when his compatriot departed. Something similar could be in the works here.

“John is a great addition to our coaching staff. His ability, personality and character will add huge value both on and off the pitch,” Frank said after the appointment of Heitinga as an assistant coach was sealed earlier this week.

“As a former defender, that will be one of his main responsibilities on the training pitch and he brings great coaching and management experiences from all levels of the game, which will really help us moving forward.”

Given Tottenham’s latest home defeat, it could well end up that Frank only has a matter of days working alongside the Dutch coach.

After leaving Liverpool’s coaching staff in the summer, Heitinga returned to Ajax but lasted only half a season before being sacked.

However, Ajax’s results – including a 6-0 drubbing to AZ Alkmaar in the KNVB Cup – suggest that their problems go beyond who sits in the dugout.

Wayne Burnett

Little about Burnett’s non-league coaching career – Fisher Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet, Dagenham & Redbridge – pointed to a future at the top Premier League level.

A grizzled veteran of the lower reaches of England’s football pyramid, Burnett is lacking in glamour. He’s been going under the radar, serving as Tottenham’s Under-21 coach for almost a decade.

His name has rarely come up in Tottenham’s other crises and numerous managerial vacancies of the recent past, but we’re approaching ‘needs must’ territory.

A 12-match winning streak in the Premier League 2 a couple of years back suggest there could be something there, while he’s got hands-on experience with the academy graduates in the senior squad.

Tim Sherwood

Don’t laugh.

Alright, you can laugh. We’ve included Sherwood’s name here as the wildcard option if Spurs really want embrace chaos.

The mad thing is that the former midfielder actually did a pretty passable stint in his role at Tottenham last time around.

Sherwood – somehow – boasts the best win percentage (59%) of any Tottenham manager in the modern Premier League era.

But that was a long time ago. The shape of Premier League football after the arrival of Pep Guardiola now has an entirely different complexion to Sherwood’s half-season spell back in 2013-14.

His disastrous stint at Aston Villa, and the general ‘proper football man’ vibe of his punditry, don’t suggest he’s got the chops to do battle with the Premier League’s finest tacticians in 2026.

It’d be fun, though. Maybe not for Spurs fans, but at least there’d be a gallows humour spectacle that the utter misery of Frank’s reign is lacking.