Tottenham have been linked with several managerial candidates following Thomas Frank’s sacking.
Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in the position they desperately wanted to avoid.
The key decision-makers at White Hart Lane gave Thomas Frank as much time as they could, more than many fans felt was warranted, in the hope he could get the team out of the rut. However, after only eight months and with the team lying just five points above the drop zone, Thomas Frank was shown the door.
Tuesday’s 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United turned out to be Thomas Frank’s final game in charge of Tottenham. The North Londoners are now just five points clear of the drop zone, and that could easily have been trimmed to just three points, had West Ham not conceded a late equaliser against Manchester United on the same day.
Before next weekend’s high-stakes North London derby, the club bosses want to have made an appointment, whether that be an interim option or a permanent replacement for Frank.
Tottenham advised to appoint Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen
Various names are already on the managerial shortlist at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Sections of the home crowd chanted Mauricio Pochettino’s name during the defeat to Newcastle, and he would be the most popular appointment, while ex-Marseille boss Roberto de Zerbi is ready to snub Manchester United to take the reins at Tottenham right now.
Now, ex-Spurs scout Bryan King has put forward a new managerial name. He has suggested that Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen could be a “fresh face”, having enjoyed great success in Norway and in Europe in recent years.
“If they are looking for a fresh face and a new name, I’d get Kjetil Knutsen from Bodo/Glimt,” Bryan King exclusively told Tottenham News.
“He’s had great success in Norway and in Europe with a very small team.
“He would certainly bring in the discipline, that’s for sure. The main job is for Tottenham to get themselves a decent position in the Premier League.
“Would Knutsen be any worse than Thomas Frank? If they try to recruit from within, then they will go down the same alleyway they have been doing for the past two or three years.”
Kjetil Knutsen would be an out-of-the-box appointment
Kjetil Knutsen has done an impressive job at Bodo/Glimt. After initially serving as an assistant manager to Aasmund Bjørkan, he became the head coach of Bodo/Glimt in 2018 after Bjørkan became the club’s sporting director. The Norwegian has guided Bodo to four league titles, whilst entertaining the fans with a possession-based, attacking style of football. He has won the Eliteserien Coach of the Year honours three consecutive times.
The 57-year-old has not really been linked with the vacant job in N17, but he’d be an out-of-the-box appointment. Spurs came up against Knutsen’s team in the last two seasons; while the Premier League side got the better of Bodo 5-1 on aggregate in the Europa League semis en route to lifting the trophy, they were held to a 2-2 draw in the Arctic Circle in the Champions League this time around.
Despite building strong sides on a shoestring budget at Bodo and helping them compete with top European sides, hiring Knutsen would be risky due to his inexperience outside of Norway.