Tottenham have appointed Tim Sherwood as their new head coach until the end of the 2014/15 season. Sherwood was among the frontrunners for the job after being named interim manager of the north London club following the sacking of Andre-Villas Boas last week.
A statement on Spurs’ official website said: “Following the departure of Andre Villas-Boas, the club can announce that Tim Sherwood has been appointed head coach with a contract to the end of the 2014/15 season.”
Sherwood had made it clear he would have preferred a longer-term and full-time deal at the club.
He met the chairman, Daniel Levy, at Spurs' Enfield training centre Monday to plot the course ahead having secured his first victory as manager, a 3-2 success at Southampton, over the weekend.
Experienced candidates
During those talks the hierarchy made it clear they were 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 Villas-Boas last week and, with such as Van Gaal or Frank de Boer unavailable until the end of the season at best, they are allowing the 44-year-old take the reins at the club.
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 have recognised 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.
Tactical game-plan
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 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 late and he got us in a circle and said it was unacceptable.
"He set out some new rules and you know not to mess with Tim, and that's good. Punctuality was one of them but stuff on the training pitch as well. When he speaks, you've got to listen.
Consider their options
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 the Netherlands 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 after the tournament in Brazil, though Spurs would potentially represent an attractive destination. De Boer, too, has his admirers at White Hart Lane.
Guardian Service
