Spurs sacked Pochettino after a Champions League final! – Trezeguet insists Mourinho knew risks

David Trezeguet believes Jose Mourinho would have been all too aware of the risks about managing Tottenham.

Mourinho was sacked on Monday after 17 months in the role, just six days before Spurs face Manchester City in the EFL Cup final.

Wayne Rooney was among the prominent football figures to question the timing of the move, calling it "crazy".

But former Monaco, Juventus and France star Trezeguet believes no manager can afford to go on a poor run in the modern game, regardless of whether they have got close to silverware.

He pointed to how Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by Spurs shortly after reaching a Champions League final as evidence that Mourinho would not be given extended time by chairman Daniel Levy.

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 20, 2021

Spurs are seventh in the Premier League going into their home match against Southampton on Wednesday, with their Champions League qualification hopes looking slim after losing 10 of their 32 top-flight matches.

Trezeguet told Stats Perform News: "He who manages a big club knows very well that at the end of the day the results are the most important.

"[The sacking of] Mourinho proved it on Monday. He had a young squad full of talent and yet, he was sacked.

"Sometimes owners, board members and others talk a lot about [long-term] plans.

"But the reality check, which managers know very well, is that if you lose five or 10 games with such a squad, you are to be sacked.

"I am very doubtful when I hear so many talking about [building long-term] projects without results.

"Results are pivotal, look at Pochettino after having reached a Champions League final - they sacked him the season after.

"It happened the same at PSG [with Thomas Tuchel who reached the Champions League final] or Juventus with Maurizio Sarri, who had even won the title in Italy."

Ryan Mason has been handed the role of interim head coach until the end of the season following Mourinho's dismissal.

Tottenham are one of six English clubs who have announced their intention to join the controversial European Super League, a development that has somewhat overshadowed their managerial change.