Mauricio Pochettino Tipped to Succeed at Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino could "do wonderers" for Tottenham Hotspur should he be appointed as the successor to Tim Sherwood this summer.

Pochettino has been the favourite for the role since Sherwood was dismissed last week despite winning 14 of his 28 matches in charge of Spurs.

The Argentine guided Southampton to a top-half finish this term, implementing an attractive brand of football fused with several English players – with Luke Shaw, Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana among those rising to prominence.

And former player and manager Glenn Hoddle believes Tottenham, whose chairman Daniel Levy is looking for the 11<sup>th manager of his reign at White Hart Lane, would be in good hands should Pochettino take over.

"It was always going to be a difficult one for Tim on an 18 month contract but Spurs have to look at long term getting some continuity otherwise they'll struggle," Hoddle told talkSPORT. "Changing the manager so many times in a short period isn't going to be healthy or bring the success the fans want.

"I think Pochettino has done a brilliant job, I think he would a very good acquisition for Tottenham I really do. The way he's got Southampton playing this year I've been very impressed and I think with the squad at Tottenham I think he could do wonders there."

The future of Pochettino has been thrown into some uncertainty since the departure of executive chairman Nicola Cortese and the Saints boss is yet to commit his long-term future to the south coast club.

Ajax's Frank de Boer, Napoli manager Rafael Benitez and former Manchester United boss David Moyes are among the other candidates but Pochettino remains the stand-out contender.

Tottenham finished sixth last season and qualified for the Europa League following a summer filled with much optimism after seven players were signed to offset Gareth Bale's world record departure to Real Madrid.

But the club failed to compete under Andre Villas-Boas, who was sacked in December and replaced by former technical director Sherwood on an 18-month deal, which was cut short after failure to qualify for the Champions League.