Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that managers will still pick a move to rivals Chelsea over Tottenham, despite the current Premier League standings. Both London clubs are on the hunt for a new head coach after the appointment of interim options until the end of the season.
Antonio Conte guided the side to a fourth-placed finish last season and was on track for a top four fight again this campaign. However, defeats in all cup competitions and unrest over the style of play eventually saw the Italian lose his post with 10 games remaining.
Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason have been given the reins for the rest of the season, with a recent victory over Brighton keeping Spurs just three points off the top four. "Yes because today we played against a tough opponent," Stellini said when asked if the top four is still on this season.
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While focus on the pitch is fully geared towards finishing strongly, behind the scenes the hunt for the next long-term manager is underway. There are several teams also in the market for a new coach, including rivals Chelsea; and while they sit in mid-table, Carragher believes top managers would still pick them over Spurs.
Jamie Carragher, speaking on The Overlap Live Tour, in partnership with Sky Bet: "If a manager has an option between Chelsea and Spurs, I think they will choose Chelsea in terms of giving them more chance of window, and maybe a bigger transfer kitty.
"The fact that they put Frank Lampard in tells me they may already have someone lined up, but that person will come in the summer.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes out in the next few weeks that Julian Naglesmann has agreed to join Chelsea, but he wanted some time out and to get ready for the summer and have a pre-season. I might be totally wrong, and they might not have anyone and are still working on it, but to sign Frank straight away and not give it another week to get someone in for a couple of months, makes me feel they have something already lined up to the summer."
While questions remain over who the next manager at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is, Carragher believes that they should take an example from two of their rivals. He continued: "With the top six teams, if they have bad seasons, they can rectify it in the summer with a lot of money and attack the transfer market as Chelsea have done this last 12 months.
"When you look at the job that Mikel Arteta has done, he’s built that up year on year - Jurgen Klopp did that as well. Tottenham need that."
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