Spurs boot out manager Sherwood

Tim Sherwood became the latest Tottenham Hotspur manager to fall foul of the north London Premier League club’s sky-high expectations when he was sacked on Tuesday after six months in charge.

The 45-year-old replaced Portuguese Andre Villas-Boas in December after a spending spree fuelled by the world-record sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid failed to propel them to new heights and they sat seventh in the table after thrashings by Liverpool and Manchester City.

Sherwood signed an 18-month contract when he took over as manager but was widely expected to leave at the end of the season, despite leading them to sixth place and another season in the second-tier Europa League.

“We appointed Tim mid-season as someone who knew both the players and the club,” said chairman Daniel Levy.

“We agreed on an 18-month contract with a break clause at the end of the season and we have now exercised that option.”

Sherwood, who played nearly 100 league matches in midfield for Spurs after winning the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, rejoined the club as assistant first-team coach in 2008 and progressed through the ranks until he was handed his first senior management role.

Speculation had mounted in recent months that Sherwood would not last beyond this season, despite having the highest winning percentage of any Spurs manager in the Premier League era.

He never appeared to have the full backing of the notoriously ruthless Levy, who has now used eight managers and two caretaking teams in his 13 years at the club and failed to acknowledge Sherwood in his end-of-season message to supporters.

Frank de Boer of Ajax Amsterdam and Southampton’s Mauricio Pochettino have been linked with the job, with Sherwood saying last week he felt like a “supply teacher”.