Igor Tudor may not love Johan Lange’s claim on his Tottenham future
Tottenham’s sporting director Johan Lange believes Igor Tudor could remain as Spurs boss beyond this season.
Tudor was appointed as Tottenham head coach until the end of the 2025-26 season on 13 February, following the sacking of Thomas Frank.
ENIC opted to go down the interim route rather than committing to another permanent appointment upon Frank’s departure, and settled on the former Juventus boss as their man to fill that role.
As such, it’s understood that Spurs chiefs will re-asses their options in the dugout come the summer, with a larger pool of potential permanent candidates possibly available to them.
That’s left many to believe that Tudor is simply in place for the rest of the season and then that’s it, but Lange has now suggested that might not be the case.
What Johan Lange has said about Igor Tudor’s future
Whoever it is that becomes Tottenham’s next permanent manager, it’s crucial that Lange and Spurs’ decision-makers get it right.
There’s still a very real risk of that coach being tasked with leading the Lilywhites to promotion from the Championship next season, such is the remarkable and unfathomable situation Spurs find themselves in.
Even if they do survive in the Premier League, then the new manager must be able to lead the team away from relegation trouble for a third-straight season, and get the side competing towards the right end of the table once again.
And according to Lange, that next permanent Tottenham manager could still be Tudor, as he’s revealed in an interview via BBC Sport.
“Of course if things go well, he (Tudor) could be here for a long time,” said Spurs’ sporting director.
“We interviewed a few [interim] candidates and Igor impressed us very, very much in the interview.
“If you come in here on the Monday and you are playing at the weekend, you need to build relationships with the players immediately.
“You need to come in to build relationships but of course assess the style of the club immediately. He has shown that with great success, not only once but a few times, to come into that.
“That is one of the reasons why we believe he is the best candidate here now, but of course also with his reputation and what he’s done in his career.”
Lange isn’t exactly Spurs trust Tudor completely
By saying “if things go well”, Lange’s words about Tudor don’t exactly read like there’s a total sense of confidence in Tudor’s potential to succeed as Tottenham head coach.
Spurs’ interim boss may perceive Lange’s words about him similarly to, with the potential for him to take it as a sign of scepticism at boardroom level over his abilities as a coach.
Lange also isn’t really saying anything much further than the obvious here either, because naturally, if Tudor was to drastically turn Tottenham’s form around between now and the end of the season, he would have to be a candidate for the full-time job.
So, it’s somewhat of a strange set of lines from Lange, as not only does it not come across as Spurs chiefs not having 100 per cent faith in him, he’s also only confirmed that Tudor would be in their thinking if things improve.
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