Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Tim Sherwood as manager until the end of the next Barclays Premier League season, with Sherwood being the suitable candidate, and first choice of chairman Daniel Levy.
Sherwood will still retain the title as interim caretaker manager, but has impressed Levy after guiding the club through a tough period, following the high progile sacking of former Tottenham manager Andre Villas Boas, who was sacked by Daniel Levy on Monday.
The newly appointed manager enjoyed his first Premier League victory in charge of the club on Sunday, as he oversaw his improving Tottenham side come from behind to win a tightly contested game away at Southampton, as Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice for Sherwood’s side in a 3-2 win at St Marys.
Sherwood has stated his desire to get the job as a permenant deal earlier in the day, and it seems that Levy has handed an early Christmas present to Sherwood, who is still considered a crowd favourite amongst Tottenham Hotspur supporters.
Sherwood’s immediate prospects were boosted on Sunday night, when another one of his rival candidates, Louis van Gaal, insisted that he would not combine the Spurs role with his job as Holland manager. However, sources in Holland claimed Levy had visited the Dutchman’s home to hold talks, which had since stalled upon Van Gaal’s statement of not taking two jobs on.
Other candidates were considered by Levy, including Fabio Capello, but Levy handed the role to Sherwood, who knows the club inside out, having worked with the majority of the squad,
Former manager Harry Redknapp, who is now in charge of Queens Park Rangers, voiced his support for the former youth team coach, other notable supporters of Sherwood included Danny Rose, Andros Townsend, Jermaine Defoe, and former Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar.
Sherwood’s decision to recall Emmanuel Adebayor has paid dividends, with the striker netting another two goals in the win against Southampton, the decision would have also pleased chairman Daniel Levy, as reports flooded in regarding that Levy had sacked Andre Villas Boas for not including the Togolese forward in match day squads, something that annoyed both Leby and Baldini.
Sherwood also promised Levy that he would bring an attacking flair of Football to his beloved club, with the promise of more youth players coming through the ranks at the club.
“It’s the only way I know how to play,” Sherwood said. “It could have gone pear-shaped at the death, they could have got a ricochet and it might have gone in. Shore it up, people might have said. But you shore it up by keeping the ball. We should have been out of sight by then. There shouldn’t have been any nail-biting.”
Adebayor has now scored three goals in two games since being restored to the team by Sherwood. He is grateful for his second chance and accused Villas-Boas of being disrespectful. “When I was coming to train and saw some of the team in the group picture, and I’m not in the team picture, that’s disrespectful to me,” Adebayor said. “They asked me to train with the reserves, so I did with pleasure. But I have been professional, I have kept my head up.
The Spurs boss will make fellow former Spurs great Les Ferdinand his assistant as Tottenham start their assault in a quest for the UEFA Champions League qualification.
The new manager’s first official fixture will be a home game against out of form West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane, on Boxing Day.
The question is, with this being Sherwood’s first official full management role, will he be able to cope as the first team head coach at such an ambitious club ?
By Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1
