Tim Sherwood admits he doesn’t know if he will still be in charge of Tottenham Hotspur when the 2014-15 campaign begins in August.
The former White Hart Lane midfielder was promoted to head coach of the Londoners following the departure of Andre Villas-Boas in December, and was handed an 18-month contract. Despite this, the general consensus is that Daniel Levy will replace the 45-year-old at the end of the season if a top-four finish hasn’t been secured.
A 4-0 defeat at Chelsea has left Spurs four points off the pace in fifth place, yet the three teams above them all have at least one game in hand. Sherwood admits he is unsure what the future holds for him in regards to remaining as manager, and it is clear he has been given no indication as to Levy’s plans for next season and beyond.
“The silence is deafening, isn’t it?” said Sherwood. “Look, the decision is up to Daniel. It’s up to the club to make the decision. One thing I can guarantee people is that no one cares more than me. I want the team to do very well and it hurts me when they don’t. I’m afraid I need people in that dressing room to be hurting like I am.”
Louis van Gaal, the current Holland coach, is widely believed to be a serious option for Tottenham, particularly as he has expressed an interested in the job should it become available. Sherwood, though, would have no interest in assisting the Dutchman, or anyone else for that matter, but would be interested in a technical director role.
“I never want to be a number two,” he added. “I’d be no good at it, I’m too opinionated. I wouldn’t want to do the job. But I do think there is a place for a technical director. I’m someone who sees the club from the bottom to the top on the training field. A lot of clubs need people like that otherwise you get no continuity and end up buying seven or 10 players every transfer window and your turnover of players is too great.”
Spurs now switch their attention from the Premier League to the UEFA Europa League, when they take on Benfica in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Thursday. The Portuguese giants arrive in the English capital in fine form, having recovered from an opening day defeat to win 17 of their subsequent 21 matches in their domestic league.
On Sunday Sherwood can boost his chances of keeping his job when Arsenal visit White Hart Lane. Not only would the three points put Tottenham’s chances of making the UEFA Champions League back on track, but it would also likely end their archrival’s fading hopes of winning a first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season.
Arsene Wenger’s side lost 1-0 at Stoke City when they were last in league action, and are now seven points behind leaders Chelsea, although they have a game in hand. A 4-1 win against Everton has, though, booked them a trip to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final date with Wigan Athletic, and they will be further boosted if they can overturn a 2-0 first leg loss to progress past Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week.
