Tottenham should sack Igor Tudor and bring in Sean Dyche to make them ‘organised’ and ‘hard to beat’ amid their relegation battle.
That’s according to ex-Spurs striker Darren Bent, who believes while fans wouldn’t be happy with Dyche, they need him to survive.
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Bent discussed where the north London club go from here after a damaging 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Thursday evening.
Igor Tudor’s side are now just one point above the relegation zone as they languish in 16th spot and are in major trouble having lost five top-flight matches in a row for the first time since 2004.
Tudor is not to do
And despite Tudor only taking charge of three games so far, Bent believes a change has to be made after losing all of them.
“I just think you can’t just keep someone in charge of a football club just because they’ve not been there that long,” he said.
“If you genuinely believe and sense that he’s not the right man and he’s not getting anything out of the players, then you almost just walk into relegation.”
Bent added: “Regardless if people are laughing at you now, come the end of the season, you want to hope you’re still in the Premier League, because if you’re not, that would be the biggest laugh.”
The former Tottenham forward then went on to comment on what manager they should make a move for if Tudor is dismissed.
He remarked: “They need a manager that’s going to go in there and just make them organised and hard to beat.
“And as I said, for the next couple of weeks, it might be horrible to watch, but if you’re nicking 1-0’s, getting draws, picking up points, [it] doesn’t matter.
“Sean Dyche, right now, for me would be the perfect man for Tottenham. Because one thing he can do is get teams organised, hard to beat.
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“I get it, Spurs fans might not want that, but at some point you’ve got to go, ‘Do you know what? We just need someone who’s going to keep us up.'”
“You just need someone who’s going to steady the ship and make you hard to beat,” Bent concluded.
“There’s no point getting someone in there that plays all this attractive football, get you on the front foot – because you’re too easy to play against.”
Keep Tudor, go down
Another ex-Tottenham player who agrees with Bent is Teddy Sheringham, who also wants to see a change made.
Sheringham told talkSPORT: “Without a doubt [Spurs have the players to stay up, but need a new manager].
“You put those players in their rightful positions playing in a system that they understand and they know.
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“I mean, playing three at the back against one centre forward in the last couple of games…
“If you’ve got three against one in defence, you’re getting overrun somewhere else on the pitch.
“It’s just been naughty viewing, it’s horrible, it needs to change drastically, otherwise they’re going to slide away.”
When asked where he thinks Tottenham will finish, he added: “It depends on who’s in charge for the next few games.
“Things change very quickly, you’ve seen it with Michael Carrick… Tottenham’s different to Man United, but you need someone with the feeling of the club as well.”
Sheringham then gave a simple response to whether he believes Spurs will stay up if Tudor is in charge, saying: “No.”
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Dyche free and available
So, if Tottenham listen to the advice from Bent and Sheringham, they will be looking for their third manager of the season.
And to replace Tudor, Bent wants to see Dyche in the hotseat.
The ex-Burnley and Everton boss has plenty of experience working with teams in tough situations at the bottom of the table.
But his most recent job at Nottingham Forest didn’t go too well, losing ten and winning as many matches of his 25 games in charge.
He was sacked by Forest after just over three months, following unrest from fans and poor results in the Premier League.
However, his more old-fashioned, solid approach to tactics and management could be what Tottenham now need to stay up.