Tottenham Hotspur have today announced that manager, Tim Sherwood, has left the club. In a statement to the club's official website, chairman, Daniel Levy has stated that it was indeed the club's decision to part company with Sherwood after just six months:
“We appointed Tim mid-season as someone who knew both the players and the club. We agreed an 18-month contract with a break clause at the end of the season and we have now exercised that option."
"On behalf of the club, I should like to state our thanks for all his efforts during his years with us. We wish him great success in his managerial career."
Tim Sherwood ended his tenure with an impressive 3-0 victory at home to Aston Villa, a win which secured Europa League football next season. Despite his side's inability to qualify for the Champions League, he had a Premier League win ratio of 59%, the best of any recent Spurs manager. However, fans were left dissatified with their team's performance in big games, such as their trip to Anfield, which resulted in a crushing 4-0 defeat. Many were unhappy with the selection of certain players, notably Bentaleb, and lack of selection of fan favourites such as Sandro.
The club chairman also stated that Tottenham will immediately begin looking for a new manager:
“Moving forward, now the season is over, we shall embark on the process of finding a new Head Coach. We have a talented squad and exciting young players coming through. We need to build on this season, develop our potential and inspire the kind of performances that we associate with our great club."
Mauricio Pochettino and Frank De Boer are the current front runners for the position, with the latter recently revealing that "informal talks" between Spurs and Ajax had already taken place:
"Tottenham talked informally with Ajax of my contract. I think they are quite happy with Tim Sherwood, but it is normal that they take information about a possible successor, as did Liverpool in the past.
"That time, I said I wanted to stay at Ajax. I'm very happy here. But if it came from a club with an interesting perspective and a good team, I would consider the proposal. I want to understand what contribution I can give."
