Tottenham warned Igor Tudor sack would be ‘mistake’ as prime manager target rejects mid-season move | OneFootball

Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew has explained why Tottenham Hotspur should stick with interim boss Igor Tudor, while key target Roberto De Zerbi has snubbed the opportunity to take over and save the club from relegation, we can reveal.

Tudor joined Tottenham on February 14 after the sacking of Thomas Frank. However, it was an underwhelming appointment for supporters, and the Croatian quickly appeared out of his depth.

Spurs lost their first four games under Tudor, conceding 14 goals in the process. The most recent of those, a 5-2 thrashing in the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid, was particularly damaging.

Tudor surprisingly took the decision to play Antonin Kinsky ahead of Guglielmo Vicario in goal. But two mistakes and three goals later, and Kinsky was replaced just 18 minutes in.

Spurs picked up their first point under Tudor on Sunday, as Richarlison rescued a 1-1 draw at Liverpool late on. However, the north London side are still in deep trouble, as they sit just one point above the relegation zone with eight games remaining.

During an appearance on talkSPORT, Pardew warned Spurs it would be a ‘mistake’ to fire Tudor, while also claiming relegation would bring ‘financial Armageddon’.

“I genuinely feel that it would be a mistake to make another change personally in the managerial front,” he said.

“When you look at the next four games, obviously that was a tough game away, they’ve got a draw. They’ve got [Nottingham] Forest at home, Sunderland away, Brighton at home, Wolves away.

“Now, if you wanted four games in the Premier League that were not particularly taxing compared to what you could have, I would suggest they’re ok. So they’ve got a great chance.

“If they’re going to stick with him, then obviously this is the period he has to do the business in my opinion.

“The last four are not so easy. Aston Villa away, Leeds at home, Chelsea away, Everton at home. But I still don’t see Tottenham going down personally. I think they’ve got too much, I just do.

“I just think the games that they’ve got, the players and staff, although they were very, very short today, the European thing might end and that might do them a favour.”

When asked how he would navigate the home clash against Forest on Sunday, Pardew replied: “The manager hasn’t won yet, so he’s under a lot of pressure himself. You’ve got two teams under huge pressure.

“Your next two home games, there’s that old cliche about the team has to inspire the crowd and the crowd will then get behind the team etc. They need to, it feeds onto each other.

“I think that has to go out the window for Spurs’ next two home games. You’ve just got to go there and just go ‘right, we’re backing the team’.

“Whatever passes, if they give it to the opposition, let’s just stay with them because these two games are just so important.

“Financially, it’s Armageddon for Tottenham if they go down.”

Tottenham sounding out potential Tudor replacements

We confirmed on Monday morning that, for now, Tudor’s job is safe. Spurs were expected to make a change if they lost to Liverpool, but, of course, that did not happen.

However, Tudor certainly is not in the clear just yet. As Pardew points out, the upcoming league fixtures against Forest, Sunderland and Brighton will be huge, both for his future and Spurs’ battle against relegation.

Our sources state that Spurs approached managerial target De Zerbi earlier this year to gauge whether he would be interested in taking charge.

However, De Zerbi rejected the opportunity as he wants to wait until the summer before joining his next club.

The Italian remains a free agent after leaving Marseille by mutual consent last month. Spurs could make another approach at the end of the season, but De Zerbi will only consider such a move if they remain in the Premier League.

It emerged on Sunday that Spurs are considering eight names to replace Tudor. The list includes Mauricio Pochettino, Sean Dyche and Robbie Keane.

We revealed last week that Spurs are in a three-way battle to appoint their former striker Keane, who is now in charge of Hungarian club Ferencvaros.

Keane is seeking a long-term contract to return to north London, whereas Spurs would rather offer him a one-year deal initially.

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