Igor Tudor ‘can only fail’ at Tottenham after appointment confirmed as ‘only way’ to get permanent job predicted | OneFootball

Igor Tudor has been confirmed as Tottenham’s head coach until the end of the season, having been given a triple-pronged mandate, with a pair of former Spurs players sharing their thoughts on the decision.

Following the sacking of Thomas Frank, Tottenham have agreed for Tudor to take charge on an interim basis. Earlier this season, he was sacked by Juventus. Now, he has officially signed up with Spurs, where his unspoken target will be to avoid relegation.

Tottenham outlined precisely what improvements they want to see from Tudor in their announcement of his appointment, writing: “His mandate is straightforward – bring organisation, intensity and competitive edge to the squad at a decisive stage of the campaign.”

But the former Croatia international is faced with the burden of it being nigh-on impossible to measure what success in the role will look like, according to Tim Sherwood.

The former Spurs player and manager – who threw his own name into the ring on Sky Sports earlier this week – has outlined why Tudor is unlikely to get any credit and why staying beyond this season would hinge on extreme conditions.

“It’s going to be difficult,” Sherwood said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday. “He has no knowledge of the Premier League. People will say, does that matter? It doesn’t matter if you’re taking a job at the top of the league, but you’re coming in.

“What’s the upside of taking this job, apart from money, for him? If he finishes 12th, he’s getting no credit.

“The downside is so catastrophic. Would you want your fingerprints all over Tottenham getting relegated from the Premier League?

“Thomas Frank would still be there if it wasn’t for the toxic nature of the fans. And I can totally understand the disgruntlement of the fans because they’re not getting results.

“I heard people say they’re sleepwalking into the Championship. I think they’ll have enough, even with the injuries, to get out of it. But he will get no credit for that.

“The downside is so great, he can only fail. He’s getting no credit for keeping Tottenham in the league.

“The only way he gets the job on a permanent basis, if he does well, there’s an opportunity for him to take it long term, what does doing well actually look like?

“Is it [Roberto] Di Matteo at Chelsea, winning the Champions League? Winning every single game? Chelsea had a lot better players than Tottenham did to win the Champions League.”

Tudor ‘needs to make a quick fix’

Fellow former Spurs player turned Sky pundit, Michael Dawson, insisted the club didn’t want to end their experiment with Frank, but now need to rely on Tudor to instil some quick changes.

“The hierarchy, I don’t think wanted to do it,” Dawson said. “You can clearly see that they didn’t have someone, when they sacked Thomas on Wednesday morning, that there wasn’t someone in tow quick. It’s taken until today to get it confirmed. Igor Tudor is the guy who’s going to take the helm for 12 Premier League games.

“And he needs to make a quick fix. He has to find some belief. He has to galvanise his group of players. Next game is the North London derby, the fans have to be on board.

“Let’s not get away from this, there’s five points between them and West Ham. It could have been three had Manchester United not scored in the last minute.

“And then the real nervousness, anxiety surrounding it, it’s mind-blowing to think that Tottenham are in a relegation battle, it really is. And that is a concern why I think they’ve made this decision.”

The inside story on Tottenham’s manager search

TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey earlier shed some insight on the process behind Tottenham turning to Tudor.

Initially, they made discreet contact with Roberto De Zerbi following the former Brighton manager’s recent departure from Marseille.

However, De Zerbi was unwilling to commit to an interim role, despite his interest in the long-term post.

Tottenham will assess their options in the summer, when the likes of De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino and more will be on the shortlist.

They have also been impressed by the impact of Man Utd’s interim manager Michael Carrick, and could make a move for him if he doesn’t get that job permanently.

Andoni Iraola and Oliver Glasner have both been discussed, while former England boss Gareth Southgate also has admirers at Tottenham.