http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/dec/23/tim-sherwood-tottenham-hotspur-manager
Tottenham offer Tim Sherwood interim manager role until summer
• Spurs hand over the reins after impressive win at Southampton
• Van Gaal and De Boer seen as potential long-term candidates
Share 28
inShare
0
Email
Dominic Fifield
The Guardian, Monday 23 December 2013 20.56 GMT
Tottenham have offered Tim Sherwood an interim manager's role to the end of the season. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur have offered Tim Sherwood the position of interim manager to the end of the season despite the stand-in having made it clear he would prefer a longer-term and full-time deal at the club.
Sherwood met the chairman, Daniel Levy, at Spurs' Enfield training centre on Monday to plot the course ahead having secured his first victory as manager, a 3-2 success at Southampton, over the weekend. Those talks extended through much of the day with the hierarchy making it clear they are considering more experienced candidates to take over in the summer. Contact has already been made with Holland's head coach, Louis van Gaal.
Yet they have been impressed by their technical co-ordinator since he replaced André Villas-Boas last week and, with Van Gaal or Frank de Boer unavailable until the end of the season at best, they are willing for the 44-year-old to take the reins for the foreseeable future, starting with the visit of West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day.
That has left Sherwood with something of a quandary given his desire to secure the position on a longer-term basis.
Sherwood went on record at St Mary's on Sunday saying he was not interested in taking the position "for five minutes", though he will recognise a rare opportunity to make an impression at an elite club – Spurs remain in touch with the Champions League qualification places – so early in his managerial career. That suggests compromise will be reached, with Sherwood expected to be confirmed in the position before the game on Boxing Day.
The former Spurs and Blackburn midfielder, whose previous work at the club had been with the academy and development squads, has already won over some doubters at the club with the attack-minded tactical game-plan implemented on the south coast and his willingness to re-establish discipline within the senior squad.
"People may think that [his reputation does not carry weight] but Tim will take no nonsense from anybody," said the full-back, Danny Rose. "At his first training session a couple of lads rolled out on the training pitch late and he got us in a circle and said it was unacceptable, in polite words.
"He set out some new rules and you know not to mess with Tim, and that's good. Punctuality was one of them: when we go down to eat, for team meetings but stuff on the training pitch as well. When he speaks, you've got to listen.
"Recently we've not played the Tottenham way, attacking and counter-attacking, and it's been hard with only one striker up front.
"Tim has said he doesn't know if he'll get the job but that's how Tottenham should be playing‚ like we did in the second half on Sunday‚ and that's what we're trying to do, play attacking football. At times we know we may concede, but we want to be scoring quite a few goals every game."
Rose worked heavily with Sherwood, who rejoined the club in 2008, in his original capacity as a first-team coach under Harry Redknapp before taking up the technical co-ordinator role. The full-back credits him, along with Redknapp, for improving his attitude.
"Tim has been backing me and a lot of the other youngsters for a good three or four years," he said. "He came to the club and, probably about four years ago, I sat down with him and Harry and they told me I needed to train a lot harder to have a chance in the team. From when I did change my attitude on the training pitch, I won Tim over and from then he has always been pushing me to try to get into the team."
Spurs will continue to consider their options in terms of finding a permanent successor to Villas-Boas but have been encouraged by Van Gaal's desire to coach in the Premier League after talks on Sunday.
The 62-year-old former Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich manager is contracted with Holland until the end of the 2014 World Cup finals and will not job-share up to then.
Indeed he is sure to receive other lucrative offers to extend his coaching career after the tournament in Brazil, though Spurs would potentially represent an attractive destination. De Boer, too, has indicated he will not make a decision over his future until the summer but has his admirers at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham offer Tim Sherwood interim manager role until summer
• Spurs hand over the reins after impressive win at Southampton
• Van Gaal and De Boer seen as potential long-term candidates
Share 28
inShare
0
Dominic Fifield
The Guardian, Monday 23 December 2013 20.56 GMT
Tottenham have offered Tim Sherwood an interim manager's role to the end of the season. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur have offered Tim Sherwood the position of interim manager to the end of the season despite the stand-in having made it clear he would prefer a longer-term and full-time deal at the club.
Sherwood met the chairman, Daniel Levy, at Spurs' Enfield training centre on Monday to plot the course ahead having secured his first victory as manager, a 3-2 success at Southampton, over the weekend. Those talks extended through much of the day with the hierarchy making it clear they are considering more experienced candidates to take over in the summer. Contact has already been made with Holland's head coach, Louis van Gaal.
Yet they have been impressed by their technical co-ordinator since he replaced André Villas-Boas last week and, with Van Gaal or Frank de Boer unavailable until the end of the season at best, they are willing for the 44-year-old to take the reins for the foreseeable future, starting with the visit of West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day.
That has left Sherwood with something of a quandary given his desire to secure the position on a longer-term basis.
Sherwood went on record at St Mary's on Sunday saying he was not interested in taking the position "for five minutes", though he will recognise a rare opportunity to make an impression at an elite club – Spurs remain in touch with the Champions League qualification places – so early in his managerial career. That suggests compromise will be reached, with Sherwood expected to be confirmed in the position before the game on Boxing Day.
The former Spurs and Blackburn midfielder, whose previous work at the club had been with the academy and development squads, has already won over some doubters at the club with the attack-minded tactical game-plan implemented on the south coast and his willingness to re-establish discipline within the senior squad.
"People may think that [his reputation does not carry weight] but Tim will take no nonsense from anybody," said the full-back, Danny Rose. "At his first training session a couple of lads rolled out on the training pitch late and he got us in a circle and said it was unacceptable, in polite words.
"He set out some new rules and you know not to mess with Tim, and that's good. Punctuality was one of them: when we go down to eat, for team meetings but stuff on the training pitch as well. When he speaks, you've got to listen.
"Recently we've not played the Tottenham way, attacking and counter-attacking, and it's been hard with only one striker up front.
"Tim has said he doesn't know if he'll get the job but that's how Tottenham should be playing‚ like we did in the second half on Sunday‚ and that's what we're trying to do, play attacking football. At times we know we may concede, but we want to be scoring quite a few goals every game."
Rose worked heavily with Sherwood, who rejoined the club in 2008, in his original capacity as a first-team coach under Harry Redknapp before taking up the technical co-ordinator role. The full-back credits him, along with Redknapp, for improving his attitude.
"Tim has been backing me and a lot of the other youngsters for a good three or four years," he said. "He came to the club and, probably about four years ago, I sat down with him and Harry and they told me I needed to train a lot harder to have a chance in the team. From when I did change my attitude on the training pitch, I won Tim over and from then he has always been pushing me to try to get into the team."
Spurs will continue to consider their options in terms of finding a permanent successor to Villas-Boas but have been encouraged by Van Gaal's desire to coach in the Premier League after talks on Sunday.
The 62-year-old former Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich manager is contracted with Holland until the end of the 2014 World Cup finals and will not job-share up to then.
Indeed he is sure to receive other lucrative offers to extend his coaching career after the tournament in Brazil, though Spurs would potentially represent an attractive destination. De Boer, too, has indicated he will not make a decision over his future until the summer but has his admirers at White Hart Lane.
