Tottenham must swallow the uncomfortable Mauricio Pochettino truth

Will Igor Tudor steady the sinking ship that it Tottenham Hotspur? Well, no one really knows, but we're about to find out. Following Thomas Frank's dismissal that, frankly, had been coming for quite a while, Spurs confirmed on Valentine's Day that Tudor will take charge until the end of the season.

The Croatian has had a full week to work at Hotspur Way ahead of Sunday's North London derby against league leaders Arsenal, and his fixtures between now and the March international break are far from straightforward.

Tottenham's next 7 fixtures

• Sunday 22 February. Arsenal (H). Premier League. Kick off 16:30.

• Sunday 1 March. Fulham (A). Premier League. Kick off 14:00.

• Thursday 5 March. Crystal Palace (H). Premier League. Kick off 20:00.

• 10/11 March. Galatasaray, Juventus, Atlético or Brugge (A). Champions League. Kick off TBC.

• Sunday 15 March. Liverpool (A). Premier League. Kick off 16:30.

• 17/18 March. Galatasaray, Juventus, Atlético or Brugge (H). Champions League. Kick off 20:00.

• Sunday 22 March. Nottingham Forest (H). Premier League. Kick off 14:15.

Considering Spurs have not won any of their eight Premier League matches in 2026, claiming just two victories from their last 17, the only way is up. Well, at least they'll hope so, given that Tudor takes over a team 16th, just five points above the relegation zone.

Of course, no one, including chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham nor sporting director Johan Lange believe that Tudor is the solution long-term. Come the summer, there is only one man most Spurs supporters want to be hired, or more pertinently re-hired, but is this really a sure thing?

Would re-appointing Mauricio Pochettino bring success back to Spurs?

The overwhelming majority of Tottenham fans would like Mauricio Pochettino to be re-appointed at the end of the season. The Argentine led Spurs to their most successful period of modern history, securing four consecutive top four finishes, as well as reaching an EFL Cup Final and the club's first-ever Champions League Final.

Since being sacked in November 2019, just five months after that historic occasion in Madrid, none of his successors, namely José Mourinho, Nuno Espírito Santo, Antonio Conte, Ange Postecoglou nor Frank have been able to replicate Pochettino, albeit the Aussie did win a trophy, as he would be quick to point out. However, there are reasons why going back to Pochettino is not a sure-fire guarantee of success. Since leaving Tottenham, he has enjoyed little success anywhere else.

Mauricio Pochettino's managerial career

With PSG, he failed to win the Champions League while, at Chelsea, he did stabilise the club, finishing sixth and reaching a Carabao Cup Final, but was sacked after just one season.

Now in charge of USA, the expanded World Cup could cause issues should he return to Spurs. The World Cup Final, which the U.S. are unlikely to feature in to be fair, is scheduled for 19 July, but, even if the co-hosts reached the round of 16, their campaign would not end until 6/7 July, which is a miserly 46 days before the Premier League returns.

Also, Tottenham now is very different to the club Pochettino found 12 years ago that had just finished sixth under Tim Sherwood. What the Argentine achieved allowed Daniel Levy to build one of the biggest and best stadiums in Europe, but this has led to a massive rise in expectations. The idea of Spurs being part of the "big six" just over a decade ago would've been fanciful.

So now, Spurs supporters expect their side to be challenging towards the top of the table as well as for silverware, which is not being met by reality on the pitch, finishing 17th last year and currently 16th, actually four points worse off than at the same stage a year ago.

Pochettino has publicly, on many occasions, spoken about his desire to return to Tottenham, but this may prove to be something of a poisoned chalice as the club searches for a quick fix to all their issues, when a fundamental a major revolution is required.