What next for Tottenham? The steps they could take in bid to avoid total mutiny
Spurs supporters have reached breaking point following a season that has gone from bad to worse.
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham added another unwanted chapter to their shambolic season on Sunday with a humiliating 6-1 thrashing at Newcastle.
It has been a campaign to forget with Antonio Conte departing as head coach last month after accusing his “selfish” players of being unable to play under pressure, while Fabio Paratici resigned as managing director of football on Friday due to a 30-month ban being upheld.
On the pitch, Spurs have suffered domestic cup exits to Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest to make it a 15th consecutive season without silverware and lost more than a third of their Premier League matches, with calls for chairman Daniel Levy to leave growing by the week.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what Tottenham could do to prevent a full-on mutiny from supporters during the next month.
‘You got us in this mess, now get us out!’
One option could be to stick with acting head coach Cristian Stellini in the hope that he can get a reaction from the players following such an embarrassing display.
While this is by far the heaviest defeat of his short reign, the Italian did lift the group to beat West Ham in February during Conte’s absence after gallbladder surgery following back-to-back defeats by Leicester and AC Milan.
It would represent a huge gamble by Levy and the board given the growing discontent aimed at a coach who is synonymous with his predecessor.
Stellini’s tactical acumen has also been shown up in recent matches with his substitutions questionable against Bournemouth and his choice of system coupled with personnel at St James’ Park hardly inspiring confidence.
Turn to one of their own
When Conte left his role on March 26, the expectation was that his Italian staff would follow and first-team coach Ryan Mason would be handed the keys for the rest of the season.
The reason this did not happen is understood to be due to the board believing continuity could be beneficial for the squad, especially ahead of a crunch period.
However, by sticking with Stellini and co, Spurs missed out on the new-manager-bounce they needed. Mixing things up and giving Mason the opportunity to implement his own ideas for the final six matches of the season – along with presumably some of the academy coaching staff like Chris Powell – would at least bring freshness to an under-performing squad that appeared to grow tired of Conte’s rigid tactics a long time ago.
While Mason has been part of the coaching staff for the past 18 months, he showed before in his 2021 caretaker stint he can be his own man and disgruntled fans would at least see one of their own making the big calls on the touchline.
Accelerate the search for Conte’s replacement
Tottenham have preached patience with their managerial search and, while rivals Chelsea have been busy interviewing candidates over the last week, Spurs were still at the due diligence stage midway through April.
Paratici had originally been tasked with finding Conte’s permanent successor until he was forced to step away from his role when FIFA extended his ban globally at the end of March.
His subsequent resignation means Levy now has control over the decision and he may have to act fast to prevent a full-on revolt among supporters, with Manchester United set to visit on Thursday before Crystal Palace travel across London on May 6.
There are three high-profile managers out of work in Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Mauricio Pochettino. Accelerating the process and bringing in one of them would be the best way to halt a potential mutiny and end the malaise that set in a long time ago among the squad.
Pochettino’s name has been repeatedly chanted at games this month. Convincing him to return and not pick Chelsea could be the quickest way to lift the gloom over the club – or is it too late?