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Tottenham sack Pochettino: Harry Redknapp and Chris Waddle on sacking


Pochettino was in charge of Tottenham for five years

“The only way is up” for Tottenham and it is a “great time to become the club’s manager”, according to former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

The north London side sacked Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, 47, on Tuesday following poor results this season.

BBC Sport understands Jose Mourinho is a strong contender for the vacancy.

“Someone will walk in there, a new face, a new voice to take over a team that is as low as they could go and he will lift them,” said Redknapp.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It is a great time to come and manage Tottenham Hotspur. Whoever comes in, the only way is up because they cannot go any lower than where they are at the moment in the Premier League.

“There could not be a better time to take the job, it is a great time for someone to become Tottenham manager.”

Portuguese Mourinho, the favourite for the vacancy, has been out of a job since being sacked as Manchester United manager in December 2018.

But Redknapp believes Spurs should not appoint a big-name foreign manager and instead opt for and Englishman.

Asked who he thought should be the next manager, he said: “Chris Wilder at Sheffield United. What the boy’s done… that’s amazing.

“But he won’t get a look in, they will end up going for another big name who is not as clever as him. Wilder could win league titles with the right club in the Premier League.

“But English managers don’t get a chance, they will go foreign again – they won’t look at [Bournemouth manager] Eddie Howe.”

‘Pochettino will go on to bigger and better things’

Tottenham defender Ben Davies paid tribute to his former boss after helping Wales beat Hungary 2-0 to secure Euro 2020 qualification.

“I didn’t know [about the sacking] until after the game,” said the 26-year-old.

“I was very shocked. But I’d like to put on record, it’s been amazing to work with him for the last five years and I’m sure he will go on to bigger and better things.”

Former Spurs midfielder and manager Ossie Ardiles thanked his compatriot for his achievements at the club.

“Mauricio put us in the elite of world football,” tweeted the 67-year-old FA Cup winner. “We owe him so many memories. Where to start? With him we learned to believe. Everybody at Spurs owe him so much.

“It was such a pleasure to arrive at the training ground and witness the camaraderie, the atmosphere. From my personal point of view, life gave me a wonderful present. Unique. His friendship. The friendship of a wonderful, principled man that would last forever.”

‘Spurs have massively under achieved’

Former Spurs and England striker Gary Lineker feels the club will not find a “better replacement”, adding on Twitter: “He (Pochettino) helped the club to punch massively above their weight for years.”

Pochettino was appointed in May 2014 and led the club to the Champions League final last season, where they lost to Liverpool in Madrid.

The former Southampton boss guided Tottenham to the League Cup final in his first full season while two third-placed finishes sandwiched a runners-up spot in the Premier League in 2017.

As well as leading Spurs to a runners-up finish in last season’s Champions League he also led them to fourth in the league and his successful reign in north London has seen him linked with Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said Pochettino and his staff had been relieved of their duties after “extremely disappointing” results at the end of last season and the beginning of this season – rather than reports