Pochettino moves to the top of Tottenham’s shortlist after major Tudor update

The ‘genius’ manager is now ‘very high’ on Tottenham Hotspur’s shortlist, with manager Fabrizio Romano withdrawing a major update on Igor Tudor’s future following the heavy defeat at Atletico Madrid.

Tudor under pressure after Atlético defeat

Tudor has had a disastrous start to his tenure as Tottenham manager, breaking his worst record as a manager as the team lost 5-2 to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday night.

The Croatian made a bold decision to nod Antonin Kinski between the sticks, but the young goalkeeper was substituted after just 17 minutes after a nightmare start with Marcos Llorente, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez getting past the 22-year-old goalkeeper.

Kinski must take some of the blame, but the Spurs manager has also been criticized for some of his tactical decisions, with Steve McManaman saying: “It wasn’t just the performance tonight, it was everything on the perimeter: the goalkeeper’s nonsense on the perimeter, the way he picked his team, the set-up.

“At half-time he went back to bringing on Solanke. Conor Gallagher, Xavi Simmons, Parinha, players who would have been ideal tonight. Every decision he made went against it at half-time. It was a surreal performance.”

With Tudor losing his first four games as Tottenham manager, Romano gave a big update on his future, saying: “Tottenham have now confirmed that Tudor will give a press conference ahead of the game against Liverpool, but he remains at significant risk of being sacked at any time.

“In the short term, the situation is very fluid. In the long term, the plan was always clear, because Tudor was on a short-term deal and Tottenham wanted a new manager in the summer. Two names remain high on the shortlist: Roberto de Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino.”

Appointment of ‘genius’ Pochettino could bring fans back on side

There is no denying that Tottenham’s situation is currently deteriorating, with relegation from the Premier League a serious concern, but Pochettino’s appointment could go some way to winning back supporters.

The Argentine, who was recently serenaded by Spurs fans on a flight from London to Madrid, won three trophies as manager, winning the Ligue 1 title, the French Cup and the French Super Cup with Paris Saint-Germain.

But perhaps most impressively, the 54-year-old led the Lilywhites to their first Champions League final and finished in the top four in four of his five seasons in charge.

Hailed as a ‘genius’, Pochettino has already proven himself to be the right man for the job as Tottenham manager, but a move may have to wait until the end of the summer as he aims to lead the United States to a World Cup appearance on home soil.