Former Tottenham defender Graham Roberts believes only success in the upcoming Carabao Cup final will save Jose Mourinho from being shown the exit door this summer.
Spurs are also at risk of missing out on the top four having taken just one point from games against Newcastle United and Manchester United recently, just as the race for Europe heats up around them.
Already out of the FA Cup and the Europa League in disastrous circumstances, the impending Wembley final with Manchester City later this month certainly looks to be of enhanced importance.
This week Roberts has told Football FanCast he doubts whether the Portuguese manager will survive should Spurs fall short:
“I think Jose needs to win the cup, if he doesn’t, then he’s had a poor season. He needs to get in the top four. If not the top four, he needs to get into Europe [the Europa League]. And then I think that, you know, the club will make a decision there.
“For me, I’m not a fan of the way we play. I love to see us play good football, but if it wins a trophy playing that way, then it’s fair enough.
“But for me I love… when Poch (Mauricio Pochettino) was manager the way we played, we got to Champions League finals and League Cup and FA Cup semi-finals and things like that, but he never won a trophy. So if Jose wins a trophy then, yeah, I’m sure he will be given another year.”
Should Daniel Levy decide to part ways with Mourinho, previous reports from The Telegraph have claimed RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann would be the club’s first-choice to take charge.
The impressive young German coach has seen his managerial stock rise exponentially during his short career to date, helped in no small part by excursions into the latter stages of the Champions League and challenging European superpower Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
Mourinho will go in search of his 5th league cup trophy on Sunday, April 25th at Wembley – when up to 2,000 Tottenham fans could reportedly be in attendance.
Should Jose Mourinho be Tottenham manager next season?
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