Five Managers Who Could Save Tottenham From Relegation

The news is out – Tottenham Hotspur are in desperate trouble at the bottom end of the Premier League table. Reports are circulating that they are preparing to sack Igor Tudor, less than a month after his appointment, given the stunning 5-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last night which was Tudor’s 4th loss in a row, who could take his place in the Spurs hotseat?

We’re looking at managers who are specialists in relegation dogfights for this list – additionally, they also need to be somewhat realistic options. For example, Jose Mourinho could very well swoop in and guide the Lilywhites to safety, but it’s highly unlikely that he would leave Benfica at this stage in the season.

Due to this, we’ve only looked at managers who are currently free agents – furthermore, they will also probably have to be content with a short-term contract.

For reference, this list is merely speculative. There is no confirmation yet that Tudor will be removed from his position as Spurs boss – we’re just entertaining some hypotheticals. Let’s have a bit of fun – well, maybe not if you’re a Tottenham fan.

Bo Henriksen

This wouldn’t be the first choice of many – if any – Spurs fans, but if the Lilywhites are going to roll the dice, Bo Henriksen is one of the more pragmatic options they could throw their chips in with.

Henriksen has a track record of short-term success at clubs in danger of relegation. He has pulled FC Zurich and Mainz out of the fire in the last few years – can he do the same with Spurs?

Admittedly, many would see this as a sideways move – Tudor came in with a similar reputation, so tales of his credentials would likely fall on deaf ears within the Tottenham fanbase. Additionally, he has never taken charge of a truly big club, meaning this would be a major step up for him.

Ryan Mason

Ryan Mason is one of three names who are reportedly being lined up to succeed Tudor – we’ll get to the other two soon enough.

Admittedly, Mason’s managerial career has been largely underwhelming thus far. After a pair of stints as interim Spurs head coach, he joined West Bromwich Albion in 2025. After a poor run of form that saw the Baggies mired in the bottom half of the Championship table, Mason was given the sack in January.

A Spurs man through-and-through, Mason would certainly bring passion to the club if he was chosen to be their saviour – if little else.

Jermain Defoe

You’re going to have to hear us out on this one. Jermain Defoe’s managerial experience is extremely limited, to say the least – his only managerial role came during 2021, when he was part of a four-man caretaker squad upon Steven Gerrard’s sacking at Rangers.

However, not only is Defoe a qualified coach with ambitions to become a first-team manager, he is a well-known and beloved figure amongst Lilywhites fans. A fantastic striker in his day, he also coached the U18s team from 2022 to 2024.

If Tudor is sacked, one of Spurs’ biggest challenges will be finding someone who wants actually wants to take on such a daunting job. Defoe, being a naturally ambitious man, would surely jump at the opportunity if it came his way.

Sean Dyche

Just a few weeks after he was surprisingly given the boot by Nottingham Forest, Sean Dyche is being considered to take up the Tottenham job. Talk about falling upwards!

Of all the managers on our list, none of them have as much contemporary experience in the Premier League as Dyche does. Outside of Forest, he has also managed the likes of Burnley, Everton and Watford.

A strict disciplinarian on and off the pitch, Dyche is known for his brutal training regimes to keep his players in tip-top condition. He is not a manager known for taking any nonsense – Dyche is the exact sort of coach you want in a relegation dogfight.

Harry Redknapp

Harry Redknapp is the name on the lips of most Spurs fans at the moment. Given their dire predicament, we can’t blame them for feeling wistfully nostalgic – but would the appointment of Redknapp work?

Redknapp isn’t the hard-nosed dictator that Dyche is. He’ll come in and give the players a confidence boost – he won’t tear them down any more than they already have this season.

However, having been out of the managerial game for almost a decade, we question this proposal. Redknapp’s greatest achievement in the past few years was winning I’m A Celebrity in 2018 – he might have gotten out of the jungle, but can he get Spurs out of the relegation zone?

What happened in Madrid left Spurs fans stunned last night

Igor Tudor looks like he is headed for the door following Spurs’ latest capitulation last night. The North London side were 4-0 down to Atletico Madrid inside 22 minutes and their goalkeeper Antonín Kinský was savagely substituted after just 17 minutes with the score 3-0. How much worse can things get for last year’s Europa League winners? They were 4-0 down before Pedro Porro scored and then 5-1 down before Dominic Solanke scored to make it 5-2 in the end.

The Spurs board will surely act before the situation gets even worse as Croatian manager Tudor seemingly must be replaced. Just who replaces him remains to be seen.