Tottenham Hotspur are on the precipice of hiring Roberto De Zerbi as their next manager to replace Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, as the latter mutually agreed to part ways with Spurs over the weekend, having just lost his father.
De Zerbi has been the No. 1 choice of upper management duo Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange, ostensibly for months. But decisively, he is not the top choice for the fans, who bristle at his record of signing players with grave allegiations of criminal activity at Marseille and know that he only ever lasts a year or two at clubs because of his volatile personality.
No, for the fans, the choice has clearly always been Mauricio Pochettino, who was willing to join Tottenham Hotspur as their manager regardless of whether or not they stayed up in the Premier League. It's just that he could not leave immediately or even help coach the team in the interim due to his duties with the United States national team.
Pochettino still backs Spurs
As Tottenham draw closer to De Zerbi, they move further away from Pochettino. And every little quote or detail about this impending hire is only making Spurs feel even more sad about the decision. Pochettino just spoke to insider Ben Jacobs at Give Me Sport about Tottenham's current relegation plight, and his words will both give fans strength and more bitterness about Lange's and Vinai's decision to roll with RDZ.
The former Tottenham manager said when asked about Spurs relegation fight and their chances of survival, “Yes, they can stay up. Of course, it’s a difficult time, but they have the capacity to win, with or without a new coach.”
Now that is the mentality Tottenham need. They need a guy like Mauricio Pochettino who loves the club and believes in the club, and even though he knows he won't be the one they hire with the task of staying up, he is still publicly and unequivocally backing them to stay up because he believes in them.
Meanwhile, Roberto De Zerbi is fully expected to sign a clause in his presumably already financially bloated contract that will protect him from having to manage Tottenham in the EFL Championship so that he can just bolt if he fails to save them from relegation. That is the exact opposite of the mentality Poch has and the affinity he has for the club, and his comments backing Spurs only make the choice hurt that much more.