He’d be their best since Pochettino: Spurs “legend” keen to replace Tudor

Tottenham Hotspur need to start winning matches in the Premier League, else the incessant chatter around relegation will only intensify before becoming a reality.

It’s rather clear at this point that appointing Igor Tudor on an interim basis until the end of the season was a mistake, with Spurs somehow getting worse since Thomas Frank’s dismissal last month.

Where do Tottenham go from here? The dream pick would be Mauricio Pochettino, but that’s not going to happen, with the former Lilywhites boss in charge of the USMNT for the World Cup later this year.

But Tottenham need a manager now, else they really could tumble down into the Championship.

The latest on Spurs’ managerial search

Tottenham have placed Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi at the top of their managerial shortlist, but neither of the elite managers are realistic options until all has been said and done in 2025/26.

Therefore, ENIC Group might need to think outside the box, with rumours even linking Harry Redknapp with a sensational return to the dugout down N17.

In all honesty, appointing a retired 79-year-old to lead the fight against relegation, the most perilous position this club have ever been in as a Premier League side, might not be the most prudent move.

But Tudor does need to be dismissed, and if not Redknapp or De Zerbi or Pochettino, then who?

Well, according to TEAMtalk, Ferencvaros boss Robbie Keane is one of the leading contenders to take the job, and what’s more, he would be particularly keen on the move now.

Keane, 45, would ideally want to take the role on a permanent long-term basis, whereas Spurs sporting director Johan Lange would want to offer him a contract running until the end of the season.

Why Keane could be the best Spurs manager since Poch

One of the greatest Tottenham forwards of modern times, a “legend“, according to former teammate Terry Sheringham, Keane might be young and inexperienced but he knows the club and has enjoyed a strong start to his coaching career in Hungary, hitherto at the helm of Maccabi Tel Aviv and completing a string of assistant roles in the Championship.

For sure, the appointment would be a gamble, but Keane couldn’t do any worse than Tudor’s doing, four losses from four in the Premier League so far and with confidence in his ability to turn things round non-existent.

Moreover, Keane is tactically adaptable, fielding either a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2 flat formation. In that, he shares something with Pochettino, who employed a three-man backline during the sunny days of his tenure.

Pochettino is undoubtedly Tottenham’s greatest modern manager. Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League last season, but the instability that reigned throughout his two-year stint suggests he doesn’t quite compare with the man who turned the club into one of the Premier League’s finest over a several-year spell.

Keane, therefore, could follow a similar route, with his front-footed tactical approach and understanding of the culture and style that Spurs hope to implement suggesting he could be perfect for the role.

When Pochettino arrived in Tottenham, few would have said he could outdrive, say, Harry Redknapp, or even Andre Villas-Boas. But the ex-Southampton coach became the project manager the club needed.

After all, there’s a reason that Poch is considered so highly by the board now, and that he is at the top of the shortlist to take the reins after his duties at the World Cup have been fulfilled.

Keane has made a strong start to his own managerial career, and while he’s young and inexperienced, the Irish legend could both emulate Pochettino while outstripping all the elite managers in the intervening years, becoming the perfect leader to establish a sustained period of success.

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