Andoni Iraola ‘close to deal’ amid Tottenham new manager hunt
Ange Postecoglou’s future at Tottenham hangs in the balance as the North London side seek to save their season on Thursday night.
Last week, Tottenham faced their 17th Premier League defeat of the season in a 4-2 thumping by Wolves with an already scrambling Postecoglou offering few solutions.
The Australian will be hoping to reignite Spurs’ season and put to rest sack rumours for at least the few two weeks as his side look to clinch a win at the Deutsche Bank Park against Eintracht Frankfurt and solidify their place in the Europa League semi-final.
However, Postecoglou’s future looks uncertain as Tottenham continue to assess their options to replace him.
Potential Postecoglou replacements are narrowing by the day
It has been a tough season for Postecoglou, who has been hindered by injuries at Tottenham, but his time at the club may not be over just yet, as the pool of candidates to replace him slim by the day.
However, the 59-year-old does not seem to have helped himself much either, constantly clashing with Tottenham supporters in the stands or finding himself at the centre of media controversy, it is thought that Daniel Levy has already decided on Postecoglou’s position.
That is according to podcaster and host of Last Word On Spurs, Ricky Sacks – talking on talkSPORT on Thursday morning (6:43am) – while admitting Postecoglou was dealt a bad hand of cards with injuries this season, he does not believe that the current Spurs manager is the right person to lead the team in the future.
“The longer we keep on going through managers and sacking managers, that quality of candidate pool is becoming smaller,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, as I’ve said, Postecoglou for me is not the right man to take Tottenham forward, but it’s not all on him. I think he’s had a difficult season with regards to injuries that you can’t get away from.”
Tottenham could be forced to keep Postecoglou with lack of suitable replacements
As the crop of candidates to replace Postecoglou shrinks in size, as does Tottenham’s hopes of Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as a potential replacement.
The 42-year-old has been having a stand-out season in the Premier League, with his side currently eighth on the table and only six points away from European football next season.
In a huge blow for Spurs, the Cherries manager seems to think so too, with Iraola expected to commit to Bournemouth for the foreseeable future.
“It does sound like at the moment that Iraola is closer to committing his future towards Bournemouth, and I think that means you’ve got a very small pool of candidates to choose from,” Ricky added.
With Iraola seemingly committed to a future at Bournemouth and Mauricio Pochettino, who has previously been tipped to return to the North London club, tied up in a contract with the USA national football team, Postecoglou’s future may not seem as uncertain as initially believed.
Now, with a must-win game against Frankfurt on the horizon, a narrowing pool of potential replacements and a managerial career at Spurs that is up in the air, Postecoglou may have all the ammunition to secure a win against the German club tonight.