Tottenham: Harry Redknapp 'not writing off' Mauricio Pochettino return after Ange Postecoglou sacking
Ex-Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said that the club's decision to sack Ange Postecoglou did not surprise him in the slightest and would not write off a return for Mauricio Pochettino.
Redknapp, who managed Spurs from 2008 to 2012, said that Postecoglou's dismissal was 'harsh', but did concede that the north Londoners had been 'atrocious' this term.
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Spurs won the Europa League, qualifying for next season's Champions League in the process, but it was their 17th-placed finish in the Premier League table that was the final straw for Daniel Levy.
Postecoglou had delivered Spurs' first piece of silverware since the League Cup in 2008, and their first European crown in 41 years.
However, Redknapp noted one particular factor that made him realise that the Australian's time was up.
'I thought it was a certainty, doesn't shock me at all,' Redknapp said of Postecoglou's sacking.
'Daniel has had two weeks after the cup final to come out and stop the speculation, from day one after they won that cup he never came out.
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"All Daniel had to say was, no, he's our manager. He's here. We're looking forward to next season, but he didn't say a word.
'I knew then for sure he was finished, so it's not a shock in any shape or form to me. It was obvious he was going and [the final] made up Daniel's mind.
"It wasn't the best game, it was two poor sides and I think, given their position in the table, Daniel would have made up his mind long before the final that he was going."
Serial winner: Ange Postecoglou (Getty Images)
Redknapp had thought that the Europa League trophy could have been Postecoglou's saving grace, but he accepted that Spurs' league form - where they lost 22 of 38 games - was unacceptable.
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'It's harsh, it's a difficult one,' he said. 'They were atrocious this season.
'The league form, fourth from bottom, they had a shocker, they won the cup, sometimes you get a bit of luck with the draw.
'But Daniel has looked at it and is thinking, 'hang on, Man United kept [Erik] Ten Hag last year after winning a cup and they went out and bought some players under his leadership and then suddenly they sacked him.
'Were they going to take that chance with Ange? Bringing four or five new players and suddenly things haven't improved in the league by Christmas, then they have to sack him and are stuck with the players he brought in.
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'He looks a good guy and I'd have liked to have seen him given more of a chance but it was never going to happen once Daniel didn't come out and support him.'
The league form, fourth from bottom, they had a shocker, they won the cup, sometimes you get a bit of luck with the draw
Harry Redknapp
Looking ahead to who could replace Postecoglou in the dugout, Thomas Frank, the Brentford boss, is the frontrunner, according to reports.
Redknapp said that the project at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be an attractive one for a lot of top coaches.
"It's a great job for someone," he said.. "I know they finished fourth from bottom in the Premier League, but they won a trophy this year, they're in the Champions League next year.
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"Let's not kid ourselves. Tottenham is a big club. The training facilities are out of this world. The stadium is probably the best stadium in the world now.
"What a job for somebody. They've got a good squad. When they're all fit and playing, they've got 20-odd players there that are very, very good players. Some good young players, too, the kids who have come through this year look very good.
'There'll be an awful lot of people who would love that opportunity to manage Tottenham for sure, and Frank at Brentford is a big odds-on favourite.
"Even Mauricio Pochettino - a friend of mine rang me and said, you know, what about Pochettino going back there? It's possible. I wouldn't write him off. Naturally, I'd be pleased."
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