Tottenham have sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas in the wake
of Sunday's 5-0 Premier League thrashing by Liverpool.
The loss was the club's worst at White Hart Lane in 16 years
and left them seventh in the table - eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Former Chelsea boss Villas-Boas, 36, took over at Tottenham
in July 2012.
"The club can announce that agreement has been reached
with head coach Andre Villas-Boas for the termination of his services,"
said a Spurs statement.
"The decision was by mutual consent and in the
interests of all parties."
Villas-Boas was dismissed by Chelsea in March 2012 after
just over eight months in charge at Stamford Bridge, and he was hoping to
rebuild his reputation at Tottenham.
He won 53.7% of his league games in charge, which is the
highest of any Spurs manager since the Premier League era began in 1992.
But Villas-Boas had come under increasing pressure in recent
weeks as his side struggled to keep pace with the top four in the league.
Tottenham lost 6-0 to Manchester City on 24 November and,
despite a draw against Manchester United and wins at Fulham and Sunderland, the
defeat by Liverpool proved the final straw for the Spurs hierarchy.
Villas-Boas said he would not "resign" as he was
not a "quitter" after the loss to the Reds but, after being summoned
to a meeting with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, his future was taken out of his
hands.
"We wish Andre well for the future," added the
Spurs statement. "We shall make a further announcement in due
course."
The early names being linked with replacing the Portuguese
include current Russia boss and former England manager Fabio Capello,
ex-Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo, Swansea boss Michael Laudrup and
Tottenham's current technical director Franco Baldini.
Former Tottenham playmaker and ex-England boss Glenn Hoddle
has also been mentioned as a contender.
Former Spurs striker and BBC presenter Gary Lineker
tweeted: "Would love to see Glenn
Hoddle given another chance at this level. Has a brilliant football mind."
Italian Baldini, 53, helped oversee the club's transfer
dealings during last summer when the club had to contend with the sale of
Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record £85.3m.
Bale scored 21 goals last season as Spurs finished a point
behind fourth-placed Arsenal to miss out on Champions League qualification.
Tottenham recruited Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli,
Etienne Capoue, Christian Eriksen, Vlad Chiriches and Erik Lamela with the
money from the sale of the Wales international but the team has been
unconvincing so far this season.
Villas-Boas had only managed one win from his previous six
home league games, with his side scoring just 15 goals in 16 top-flight
matches.
However, in contrast, Spurs won their six Europa League
group games to progress to the last 32 of the competition, where they will meet
Ukrainian side Dnipro.
Villas-Boas also guided Tottenham into the quarter-finals of
the Capital One Cup and they face West Ham at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, 18
December.
His latest departure comes after his failure to have the
same kind of impact he did in his early managerial days in Portugal
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