Tim Sherwood admits the boardroom ‘silence is deafening’ at Tottenham and fears he will be ousted from his job in the summer.
Chairman Daniel Levy was not at Chelsea on Saturday to see Spurs crashing to a 4-0 defeat which damaged their chances of returning to the Champions League, which seems to be Sherwood’s best way of somehow avoiding the axe.
Levy has made no attempt to refute the popular theory that Holland boss Louis van Gaal is primed to take over after the World Cup and, caught up in the emotion of losing heavily, Sherwood said: ‘The silence is deafening, isn’t it? It’s up to Daniel. I didn’t know if he was at the game or not. Maybe he was travelling.
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Not good enough: Tim Sherwood was fuming after Tottenham's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Not happy? Daniel Levy has been silent about the rumours involving Louis Van Gaal coming to the club
Chance: The Dutch manager has admitted a Premier League switch is appealing to him in the summer
‘One thing I guarantee is that no one cares more than me. I want the team to do very well and it hurts me when they don’t. I’m afraid I need people in that dressing room to be hurting like I am.’ Sherwood was appointed in December to replace Andre Villas-Boas and handed his first chance to manage at senior level with an 18-month contract, but appears resigned to becoming the eighth manager sacked by Levy in 13 years.
Sporting director Franco Baldini’s future also appears in jeopardy after Spurs lured former chief scout Ian Broomfield back to the club by hijacking a proposed switch from QPR’s scouting team to Arsenal’s.
Tottenham insist Baldini, who arrived only last year, and Broomfield will work in tandem but Levy seems determined to restructure again behind the scenes at White Hart Lane. Sherwood is understood to have not been consulted about Broomfield’s return.
Despite his inexperience, Sherwood has made it clear he has no desire to work as assistant to a new manager but hinted for the first time that he may be interested in a technical director’s role, a more powerful version of his previous position as technical coordinator with added responsibility for strategy through the club.
‘I feel I can do the No.1 job but I’d be no good as a No.2, I’m too opinionated. I wouldn’t want to do the job,’ said Sherwood.
‘There is a place for a technical director, someone who sees the club from bottom to top of the training field. There’s a definite place for that, otherwise you get no continuity and end up buying seven or 10 players every window and your turnover of players is too great.’
Not enough leaders: Sherwood casts an evil eye at midfielder Nabil Bentaleb at the end of the game
SUPER STAT
The win against Spurs extended Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten record in the Barclays Premier League at Stamford Bridge to 75 games. He has won 193 points from a possible 225.
If there is friction behind the scenes, there was also friction on the touchline at Stamford Bridge, where Sherwood clashed angrily with Chelsea coach Steve Holland.
‘I thought his comments were a little bit patronising,’ said Sherwood. ‘I’m not sure what he actually said, and to be honest I was in that kind of mood to blow up with anyone so no hard feelings.’
The Spurs boss was also unable to mask his feelings about his own players after what he described as another ‘gutless’ disintegration to go with 6-0 and 5-1 defeats against Manchester City and a 5-0 defeat at home to Liverpool.
‘We lack something don’t we?’ said Sherwood when asked about his on-field leaders. ‘Capitulations are happening too often.
‘In adversity, when things go against us, that’s when we go missing. You either have that in you or you haven’t. We need to stand up and be counted sooner rather than later.’
Spurs performed well for 56 minutes until Jan Vertonghen’s mistake gifted Samuel Eto’o the first. Then they fell apart.
Younes Kaboul was sent off after conceding a penalty for Chelsea’s second and captain Michael Dawson pulled a hamstring and limped off. Defensive problems loom ahead of Sunday’s North London derby.
Dawson, Vlad Chiriches and Etienne Capoue, who can play at the back, are injured and Kaboul will be banned. The only senior centre-half available is Vertonghen, who says he wants out if Spurs do not make the Champions League and was responsible for sparking Saturday’s collapse and culpable in the third scored by Demba Ba.
Despondent: Aaron Lennon refused pushed Stefan Freund's hand away after the final whistle
Team spirit? The players were accused of not caring as much as their passionate boss
At the end, few Spurs players acknowledged their supporters and when coach Steffen Freund tried to usher Aaron Lennon towards them, Lennon pushed Freund’s arm away and stormed down the tunnel.
‘They should walk down there,’ said Sherwood.’I told them to go down there. You can understand their disappointment but those fans are disappointed too and those fans are second to none. It’s important our players acknowledge them.’
Mourinho defended Eto’o against accusations that he played to win Chelsea’s penalty and insisted football’s divers were not to be found at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea manager did not name Luis Suarez but there was a sly dig involved as he tackled the subject of deliberately trying to get opposing goalkeepers sent off.
‘We had big opportunity in the second minute of the game when other players with other shirts the players would go for a penalty and a red card for the keeper,’ said the Chelsea boss.
‘Eden Hazard doesn’t do that and he misses from a difficult angle. He tries to go away from the keeper, while other important players in this league they attack the keeper..
‘You know the kings of the penalites,’ said Mourinho. ‘You know where they are and they’re not here.’
Easy: Chelsea ran riot on Saturday
Instead, the Chelsea boss praised the predatory instincts of Eto’o, who is 33 today,(MON) ‘Eto’o was brilliant,’ said Mourinho. ‘You can speak about Vertonghen’s mistake but it was only Vertonghen’s mistake because Eto’o is there. If Eto’o does not read the situation the defender or the goalkeeper will get the ball.
‘He’s not a 20 years old super-fast player like he was 10 years ago, so he needs to be close to the goal, he needs his feet in the box and he’s very intelligent in the way he moves.
Eto’o started against Spurs only because Fernando Torres was injured in the warm-up and is likely to miss at least two weeks as Chelsea sprint clear in the title race and attempt to reach the last eight of the Champions League.
Mourinho believes the Champions League will play a part in the title race, but believes both Manchester City and Manchester United can overturn their first leg defeats in Europe.
‘They lost at home, but can’t Manchester City win in Barcelona?’ said the Chelsea manager. ‘No? Barcelona lost to Valladollid and lost at home to Valencia. Why can’t they win? Why can’t Man United change that result against Olympiakos? I think they can. I think they’re going through. Arsenal at Bayern, can they win 2-0 and go to extra time? Difficult, probably the most difficult of the three but they can.’
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