John Terry makes Tottenham manager prediction amid Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino links

Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry says he expects Mauricio Pochettino to return for a second bite at the cherry as Tottenham manager in the summer.

Tottenham announced that Thomas Frank had been relieved of his duties after only eight months on Wednesday after the side had suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle in the Premier League.

It was just the latest in a desperately poor run of domestic results, with the club languishing down in 16th place in the table, just five points above the relegation zone.

Spurs’ strong group-stage performance in the Champions League was not enough to keep Frank in the job, with early exits in both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup only increasing the pressure on the Dane before his dismissal.

Discontent amongst the fanbase had grown to such an extent that cries of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ were directed at Frank for much of Tuesday’s contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Frank and his players were also booed off the pitch at the full-time whistle as they were consigned to their 11 loss of the top-flight campaign.

It’s understood the north London outfit will first look to hire an interim head coach – ahead of their upcoming match against arch-rivals Arsenal – before appointing a long-term solution in the summer.

The likes of Robbie Keane, Oliver Glasner and Xavi have all been linked with the vacant position in the intervening hours, while ex-Brighton and Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi has been installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite.

However, Terry would be surprised if USA boss Pochettino wasn’t managing the club again come the start of next season given the popularity he still has with fans from his first spell.

‘I really like Thomas Frank and I don’t like to see any manager lose their job, but I think it’s the right call from Tottenham,’ Terry told his followers on his TikTok page.

‘With a tough game and a tough fixture at home against Arsenal next, it’s going to be very tough for any manager coming in, but they certainly need a new manager bounce.

‘It’s looking like Roberto De Zerbi is the favourite until the end of the season. Robbie Keane has been linked until the end of the season as well, Tim Sherwood, Harry Redknapp’s thrown his hat in the ring until the end of the season.

‘But I think the main one that the Spurs fans want and that everyone is talking about is Pochettino to come back.’

Terry believes Pochettino is a ‘great manager’ having worked with the Argentine in his part-time coaching and mentoring role in Chelsea’s academy.

‘Obviously I worked with him and have seen him work at Chelsea. Great manager, done great for Spurs previously as well,’ he added.

‘I think he’s going to be the one to take Spurs next season, with a temporary manager coming in this season.’

The likes of Harry Redknapp and John Heitinga – Spurs’ current assistant manager – have been mooted as potential candidates to take over the reins from Frank on an interim basis.

Tim Sherwood, who managed Tottenham from 2013 to 2014, has also been linked and the 57-year-old has made no secret of his interest in returning to his former stomping ground to help steady the ship.

‘It was an honour for me to manage that football club and it would be an honour for me to manage them again,’ Sherwood told Sky Sports on Wednesday.

‘I can do the job. I have proved that I can do the job. What they can’t do is make a mistake with this appointment.’

Sherwood added: ‘I’m 50/1, so there’s no chance really…but maybe it’s not sexy enough, I might have too much of a personality for that hierarchy.

‘If you look at what I did when I went in there, I did the job. I did the job I was asked to do and won more games than losses. My home record was excellent as well.

‘I played on the front foot. Forget how you’re going to play in this situation, they need to win, no matter how you play, you need to win.

‘They need to take the shackles off this group of players, get some confidence and make sure they’re prepared for a relegation battle.

‘When I look through that squad, I’d probably hand my hat on five of them to have a fight down there, they’re not ready for a fight at the moment when you look from the outside.’

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