It’s a scenario Roberto De Zerbi would have been desperate to avoid, and yet Tottenham Hotspur have gone into the international break as the Premier League‘s crisis club.
Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa followed a similar pattern to recent outings, with the Lilywhites flying out the traps initially, yet swiftly coming undone at the slightest setback.
It’s now the club’s worst start to a Premier League campaign after five games, a statistic that would be damning enough in isolation, yet is particularly concerning after back-to-back 17th-place finishes.
Speaking post-match at the weekend, De Zerbi called on the “leaders” of his team to step up to the plate, but surely the man at the helm is the one to blame?
Why De Zerbi deserves to be under scrutiny at Spurs
Having kept the club up last term, De Zerbi has been given the keys to the kingdom at N17, backed to the hilt following an eye-watering summer of investment.
You do have to wonder whether the ENIC hierarchy knows who they’re dealing with, however, with the former Marseille man a typically combustible, explosive coach.
Does his prior career warrant such faith and financial support? Indeed, the 47-year-old fell out with Tony Bloom at Brighton over the club’s rigid transfer policy, while also coming unstuck in France amid a string of on-field and off-field issues.
In good times, his brand of football is something to rally behind, but like right now, he looks like the type of figure who merely adds fuel to the fire, already turning on his players to a degree.
The handling of £85m man Mateus Fernandes, deployed in an ill-suited number ten berth, has been one pertinent issue too, with there still a lack of consistency in the starting lineup.
The reality is, he’s still won just three Premier League games so far since replacing Igor Tudor, ensuring that it wouldn’t be a mistake to already be looking at a potential replacement.
Which notable managers are available right now?
It’s set to be a long few weeks without club action, everything gearing toward a pivotal encounter with Michael Carrick’s Manchester United, the Englishman under pressure himself back at Old Trafford.
Another defeat for De Zerbi would surely have a few candidates ready to throw their hat into the ring, with there a string of intriguing managers currently out of work and available.
Former target Julian Nagelsmann is without a job after leaving Germany following the World Cup, the young coach long linked with a move to north London, amid his prior work with Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich.
He is yet to coach outside of his homeland, however, hence why Eddie Howe might be a safer bet, the Englishman also on the market after his surprise exit from Newcastle United this summer.
The former Bournemouth boss brought the good times back to Tyneside, winning the Carabao Cup in 2025, while elsewhere, Premier League-winning coach, Arne Slot, is also available, having been tipped for the role prior to Ange Postecoglou’s appointment.
Both Thomas Frank and Antonio Conte are also among the high-profile managers out of work, although it might be another man with Spurs links who ends up back in north London instead.
Why the next Pochettino could replace De Zerbi at Spurs
As noted above, the meeting with Man United on 10 October is already being dubbed ‘El Sackico’, with the Red Devils enduring their own joint-worst start to a Premier League season.
|
De Zerbi – Career Record |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Games |
Players Used |
|
Spurs |
14 |
35 |
|
Marseille |
69 |
49 |
|
Brighton |
89 |
42 |
|
Shakhtar |
30 |
29 |
|
Sassuolo |
120 |
54 |
|
Benevento |
29 |
39 |
|
Palermo |
13 |
26 |
|
Faggio |
90 |
48 |
|
Darfo Boaria |
22 |
29 |
Such errant form for the two top-flight rivals has, unsurprisingly, sent the rumour mill into overdrive, with potential managerial replacements now being touted.
Well, as exclusively reported by Football FanCast, Kieran McKenna is said to be open to talks with either club, the Irishman ready to make his return to management by all accounts.
The 40-year-old left Ipswich Town following the club’s return to the Premier League, yet the belief is that he is merely ‘biding his time’ amid the hope of sealing a top job elsewhere.
In Spurs’ case, this would be an intriguing hire considering McKenna’s prior connection with the club, the highly-rated coach rising through the ranks after injury cut short his playing career.
Now, even at just 40, he’s arguably “one of the best managers around“, in the view of ex-Ipswich skipper, Sam Morsy, having done a remarkable job in his first managerial post at Portman Road.
As relayed by BBC Sport, McKenna has been ‘influenced by Mauricio Pochettino‘ in terms of his managerial style, with the Argentine having been in charge of the senior Spurs team while he worked in the youth set-up.
Like ‘Poch’ in his younger days, the out-of-work coach is an up-and-coming manager who prioritises a front-foot, attacking style of play, having blown teams away in the EFL in recent years.
In four seasons with the Tractor Boys, McKenna oversaw three promotions and one relegation, only really coming undone in the Premier League amid the need to shift his approach to a more conservative style.
Perhaps his recent woes in the top flight would be of concern, but this is a figure whom Spurs, like with Pochettino before him, can build around for the long term, with there so much to like about what he offers in the dugout.
Let’s face it, De Zerbi feels like a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Having McKenna, a man who’s seen Poch up close and knows Tottenham inside out, waiting in the background would be a wise move.
Let’s just hope Man United, another of his former employers, don’t get there first.
