Tottenham took a gamble they were confident would pay off after confirming managerial novice Tim Sherwood as their new head coach on this day in 2013 – until the end of the following season.
Sherwood had no experience at leading a club prior to assuming first-team duties of Spurs one week earlier in the wake of Andre Villas-Boas’ sacking.
Yet after one defeat and a win, the Tottenham board had no trouble in supporting Sherwood to lead them further up the Barclays Premier League table.
The north London club had been expected to at least be challenging for a top-four finish after a heavy outlay over the summer, yet they sat seventh in the table and were four points adrift of the Champions League places.
Villas-Boas was dismissed a day after a demoralising 5-0 home defeat against Liverpool, while Tottenham also shipped six goals at Manchester City.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy admitted he was loath to dispense with the services of Villas-Boas, but gave his backing to Sherwood, who made nearly 100 appearances for the club as a midfielder from 1999 until 2003.
Levy told the club’s official website: “We were extremely reluctant to make a change mid-season, but felt we had to do so in the club’s best interests.
Happy birthday to Tim Sherwood. Here's our Head Coach being welcomed to Spurs as a player by David Ginola in 1999. pic.twitter.com/SaCGRplGav— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 6, 2014
“We have a great squad and we owe them a head coach who will bring out the best in them and allow them to flourish and enjoy a strong, exciting finish to the season.
“We are in the fortunate position of having within our club a talented coach in Tim Sherwood.
“We believe Tim has both the knowledge and the drive to take the squad forward.”
