Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy Clueless Over New Manager – Clive Allen

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is losing his grip on operations at White Hart Lane as he begins the search for the 11<sup>th manager of his tenure in north London, acording to former striker Clive Allen.

Sherwood was dismissed on Tuesday half a season into his 18-month deal at Spurs, despite winning 14 of his 28 games in charge and guiding the club to a sixth place finish in the Premier League ahead of Manchester United.

Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax's Frank de Boer are the leading contenders for the role but questions have been asked of Levy's haphazard spell at the helm at Tottenham as the club's fortunes continue to dwindle amid numerous managerial changes.

And Allen told Sky Sports: "I'm not quite sure the club hierarchy know which way to turn.

"They're in a very difficult situation and one that they've been in too many times before in the last couple of years.

"They need to give someone some time to find some stability and find some direction because at the moment they're just going around in circles.

"It has to be someone with a very strong personality, and they have to be experienced for the size of the club and the magnitude of task ahead.

"And then they will have to be able to integrate young players with experienced ones.

"It's so tough to get into the top four and play Champions League football. They just about have to have all the credentials to bring the club where they want to be."

After helping Southampton to a top-half finish in the Premier League this season, Pochettino is seen as the man to cure Tottenham's problems, which saw the club fail to challenge for a top four place.

However, Allen believes the role might come too soon for Pochettino, whose future at St Mary's has been thrown into doubt since the mid-season departure of executive chairman Nicola Cortese.

"Pochettino has that experience," the former Tottenham coach added. "He's done a great job at Southampton but I don't know whether he will be looking to move on from there at this stage.

"He's done it there with a lot of young players which I think might be very attractive for Daniel Levy."