Six Contenders to Replace Thomas Frank at Tottenham

The majority of Tottenham Hotspur fans thought they were getting a happy medium between José Mourinho and Ange Postecoglou when Thomas Frank was appointed manager in June.

Frank’s work at Brentford garnered lofty praise, and inevitability meant the Dane would soon take the next step in his managerial career. He’d been linked with the Manchester United and Chelsea jobs, but opted for a buoyant Spurs still basking in the glory of their Europa League success.

However, the Dane’s tenure was nothing short of a disaster. The optimism that surrounded his appointment swiftly turned to sorrow, with many wishing they had seen Postecoglou’s "season three" after all.

The jubilation of Bilbao has been usurped by melancholy, division and ugly toxicity, with Frank’s antiquated and cowardly brand of football working in contradiction to the so-called “Tottenham Way.”

16th and sleepwalking their way into the relegation dogfight, supporters finally got their wish after yet another home defeat. A run of two Premier League wins in 17 games rendered his position untenable.

Now, Spurs are preparing to appoint their first manager since Daniel Levy’s exit. The long-term successor may not become clear until the summer, and here are six potential candidates for the role.

6. Oliver Glasner

Oliver Glasner will go down as one of the most significant figures in Crystal Palace history.

The Austrian will be remembered as the man who guided the Eagles to FA Cup glory in 2025—their first piece of major silverware. They also recorded their best Premier League season under Glasner.

He’s a brilliant coach, but as the Thomas Frank experiment has shown, that doesn’t make him the right man for Tottenham. There are differences between him and the Dane, but there would be similar concerns over scalability if Glasner were to be appointed as Frank’s successor.

His 3-4-2-1 is expertly drilled, and Palace have played some superb football in transition over the past couple of years. However, recent history shows that such managers do not last long in N17.

There’s a ceiling on what Glasner’s framework can achieve, and Spurs, whether rightly or wrongly, regard themselves as above that threshold. The Austrian has also struggled to last more than two years with any club throughout his managerial career.

5. Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso is absolutely the dream option for Tottenham after Florentino Pérez harshly called time on the former midfielder’s project at Real Madrid.

Alonso departed the Spanish capital after just a few months, but his reputation remains sky-high as a result of his work with Bayer Leverkusen. Ultimately, player politics and the apparent unwillingness of pampered superstars to be coached proved to be key to Alonso’s demise at Madrid.

There’s talk of the Spaniard waiting until the summer to tackle a new challenge, which makes sense given the demands of managing Los Blancos. Alonso took over a sinking ship at Leverkusen before evolving his team into champions in short order, so the current situation at Spurs wouldn’t exactly be foreign to the 44-year-old.

However, unless Alonso is smitten by a mammoth financial package from north London, he’ll almost certainly be Liverpool’s next head coach once they decide to part ways with Arne Slot.

4. Roberto De Zerbi

While many expect Tottenham to go down the interim route, there are managers out there who could be appointed in the immediate aftermath of Frank’s exit.

Conveniently, Roberto De Zerbi is on the market. The tempestuous Italian has just left Marseille by mutual consent after his team were dumped out of the Champions League and beaten 5–0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Classique.

De Zerbi did a stellar job with Brighton & Hove Albion, and will undoubtedly have this Tottenham team playing again. He’s a great innovator whose football can enthral, and it won’t take him long to win hearts and minds in N17. However, is he capable of leading a successful long-term project?

De Zerbi can be an unsavoury character who has previously fallen out with playing personnel and often clashes with those above. Some supporters would argue that he’s exactly the type Tottenham need, but in terms of sustainability, De Zerbi doesn’t particularly fit the bill.

3. Andoni Iraola

There are certainly parallels between Andoni Iraola and the much-loved Mauricio Pochettino, who was appointed Tottenham boss in 2014 after a successful spell with Southampton.

Iraola’s well into his third season at the helm, having guided Bournemouth to their best Premier League campaign in 2024–25. Like Pochettino, the Spaniard is a Marcelo Bielsa disciple, and the thrilling football Lilywhite supporters crave would undoubtedly be facilitated by the Cherries boss.

An injury crisis was mitigated with aplomb last season, and Bournemouth are set for a mid-table finish this term despite losing most of their backline in the summer and their attacking superstar in the winter. Iraola has refused to moan and has simply gotten on with it.

His man-management has been lauded, too, with his shrewd flexibility complementing a framework predicated on vigorous intensity out of possession.

Every manager has tried and ultimately failed to turn the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a “fortress”, but Iraola’s press is capable of igniting a sleeping giant.

2. Xavi Hernández

Xavi Hernández is certainly the ’name’ that’d uplift supporters after months of turgid misery.

The once-outstanding Barcelona midfielder proved himself to be an idealistic but also adaptable manager during his time in charge of the Blaugrana, winning the La Liga title in 2022–23 before things turned sour.

Xavi admitted that he struggled to cope with the unavoidable ’entorno’ that surrounds Barça, and although the Spaniard would be walking into a currently toxic atmosphere in N17, he’s certainly capable of appeasing a fanbase that demands to be entertained.

Heavily influenced by Pep Guardiola and former Spanish national team manager Luis Aragonés, Xavi’s football is easy on the eye and capable of bringing Spurs back into the 21st-century, having wandered back to the dark ages with Frank at the helm.

His promotion of youth and the trust he showed in ’La Masia’ would also encourage a mightily exciting generation of Tottenham youngsters, who are yet to get a proper run out with the first team.

1. Mauricio Pochettino

You can post as many ’dumps’ from 2016 as you like, but things will never be as they were. Nostalgic Tottenham supporters have got to accept that, too, but the appeal of Mauricio Pochettino is perhaps stronger than ever.

There are very few managers who ’get’ Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, but Pochettino was able to develop a connection and bond like no other. He guided Spurs through their most exhilarating era in decades, even if his several wonderful teams ultimately failed to claim silverware.

While the Premier League, in particular, has evolved drastically since Pochettino’s energetic 4-2-3-1 rocked White Hart Lane, the Argentine did a pretty decent job during his one year at Chelsea in 2022–23. The USMNT are also heading into a home World Cup in an optimistic mood, having shown distinct signs of improvement during Pochettino’s tenure.

The sport hasn’t passed him by yet, and while reunions are seldom successful, the return of a much-loved figure, despite his Chelsea venture, should restore a glint in the cockerel’s eye.

The man himself is desperate to come back, too. Having just about resisted at previous junctures, the allure of #PochBack may be too tempting this time around.

Six Contenders to Replace Thomas Frank at Tottenham—Ranked