Jamie Carragher has claimed Antonio Conte has been backed at Tottenham - and also told Mauricio Pochettino: "Never go back".
Spurs are enduring a tough campaign under Conte. The Londoners failed to win the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, while they are fourth in the Premier League table - just three points ahead of a rampant Liverpool having played a game more.
Tottenham's poor form has led to some fans demanding for the reinstatement of ex-boss Pochettino, who was sacked by Spurs in November 2019. Yet Carragher believes Pochettino should stay away from Tottenham, as a second spell could tarnish his legacy.
Pochettino spent five-and-a-half successful years at Tottenham and is arguably their greatest manager of the Premier League era. He led them to a second-placed finish during the 2016/17 term, as well as the 2019 Champions League final and 2015 Carabao Cup final.
Pochettino achieved this by playing an attractive, free-flowing style of football and trusting younger players. His successors, Jose Mourinho and Conte, have both been accused of doing the opposite - hence why some fans are calling for Pochettino to return.
Yet Carragher has urged the Argentine to say no to Spurs chief Daniel Levy if he comes calling. "Never go back," Carragher wrote in The Telegraph. "That is what they say in football. Mauricio Pochettino would be wise to remember that."
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Carragher believes it is time for Tottenham to, once and for all, say goodbye to the Pochettino era. The Liverpool icon insists comebacks are "more romantic than logical" and has highlighted the amount of times reunions have failed in years gone by.
Carragher added, "They must know how rarely old magic is recreated in football... Pochettino returning to Spurs would be like Kevin Keegan going back to Newcastle."
The pundit also thinks Levy was "out of order" for sacking Pochettino in the first place - calling it a "misguided" decision - and thinks Pochettino would find it difficult inheriting a decaying squad. Harry Kane, for example, is tipped to leave the club in the summer.
Carragher added, "He [Pochettino] built a team around a young Harry Kane, and takes some credit for helping the England captain to become the striker he is. Inheriting Kane at the end of his career - when he must be considering his future - would be a tougher challenge. Whoever takes over at Spurs will surely be overseeing Kane’s exit."
Whether Pochettino listens to Carragher remains to be seen. The Argentine is a free agent and returning to Tottenham could be his best chance of securing a job at a so-called "Big Six" club in the Premier League. He would be a popular choice among Spurs fans.
Conte is tipped to leave Tottenham when his contract expires at the end of this season. The Italian impressed during his first half-season in charge of Spurs - leading them back into the Champions League - but has struggled to deliver success this season.
Tottenham's big aim is ending their trophy drought, with their last piece of silverware coming in 2008. Mourinho and Conte were both appointed to do that, with little joy. "The era of big clubs accepting pragmatic football without trophies is over," claims Carragher.
Conte has often suggested his squad is not good enough to compete for silverware, but Carragher disagrees. He thinks the Spurs boss has been backed in the transfer market, with the likes of Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Pedro Porro all arriving since last summer. He also thinks Tottenham's recruitment under Conte has been poor.
Carragher argued, "What I will not buy is the argument that Levy and the Spurs board have failed to back Conte... Spurs have fallen way behind Arsenal because of poor football decisions and erratic performances, not lack of investment."
