Mauricio Pochettino Appointed New Tottenham Hotspur Manager

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino on a five-year deal following the Argentine's resignation from Southampton.

The 42 year old succeeds Tim Sherwood, who was sacked after he guided Spurs to a sixth place finish in the Premier League last season.

Pochettino's future had been thrown into doubt following the departure of former Southampton executive chairman Nicola Cortese and has been the leading contender to become the new manager at Tottenham since Sherwood's dismissal.

"This is a Club with tremendous history and prestige and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be its Head Coach," he said.

"There is an abundance of top-class talent at the Club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad.

"Tottenham Hotspur has a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion the fans show for this team. We are determined to give the supporters the kind of attacking football and success that we are all looking to achieve."

Upon his arrival, Pochettino will be charged with returning Tottenham to the Champions League and overhauling a squad which was supplemented by seven new players last summer, following the world record sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, but with little success.

Chairman Daniel Levy replaced Andre Villas-Boas with former technical co-ordinator Sherwood last December after a poor start to the campaign but the club were unable to stage a late assault on the top four.

Former Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle is among those to have warned Pochettino over the reputation of Levy, who makes the ex-Paris Saint Germain defender the 10<sup>th different manager of his reign at White Hart Lane.

Levy added: "In Mauricio I believe we have a Head Coach who, with his high energy, attacking football, will embrace the style of play we associate with our Club.

"He has a proven ability to develop each player as an individual, whilst building great team spirit and a winning mentality.

"We have a talented squad that Mauricio is excited to be coaching next season."

After a successful start to management in La Liga with former club Espanyol, Pochettino joined Southampton in 2013 and quickly imposed his philosophy on the south coast club.

A combination of an entertaining passing game and the implementation of several young English players including Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Luke Shaw saw Southampton win many admirers during Pochettino's spell in charge.

After ensuring survival from relegation after taking over from Nigel Adkins in his first season, Pochettino helped Southampton achieve a record-equalling best finish of eighth in the Premier League.

However, boardroom unrest which saw owner Katharina Liebherr temporarily replace the outgoing Cortese before the appointment Ralph Krueger in March unsettled Pochettino, whose held a strong relationship with the Italian banker.

After refusing to commit himself to Southampton beyond the summer, Pochettino leaves Southampton under a cloud with the south coast club now facing losing several of their big name players.

In a statement on the Southampton website confirming Pochettino's departure, Krueger said: "The Club has been on a constant path of growth since the arrival of Markus Liebherr in 2009. This growth took place before Mauricio came, it continued strongly under his leadership, and it will continue into the next season.

"The Board's job is to find opportunity in this challenge and to continue to move the Club forward.

"We have begun the search for a new high-calibre manager. We will be looking for a manager that shares our values, our principles and our philosophy; a manager who can continue to grow the First Team and build on our strong foundation – a foundation led by an ambitious vision and plan that continues to build on our world-class academy, our amazing 129-year heritage and our excellent staff, and rewards our loyal and passionate fan base."

Former Cardiff City manager and FC Basel boss Murat Yakin are among the contenders to join Southampton at their new manager.