Tottenham Hotspur News: Dimitar Berbatov advises Spurs to steer clear of Jose Mourinho amid transfer links

What's the story?

Former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur star Dimitar Berbatov has urged Spurs to steer clear of appointing Jose Mourinho, and has advised them to stick with Mauricio Pochettino.

In case you didn't know...

Pochettino, who has transformed Spurs into top-four regulars in the course of his five-year tenure, now faces uncertainty in his role as manager after the north London outfit endured a disheartening start to the new campaign.

The Argentine tactician is no stranger to speculation around his departure, having been linked with the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid a number of times before.

Tottenham currently sit at ninth place on the Premier League table, after registering three wins in their first eight games.

Mourinho, who has been out of a job since the Red Devils sacked him in December last year, has been tipped to replace Pochettino should he leave Spurs, with reports suggesting the Portuguese legend is keen on making his Premier League return with the club.

The heart of the matter

Berbatov is unsure whether Mourinho is the right man to guide Spurs, and has advised the club to be patient with Pochettino.

He told Betfair, "There has been a lot of talk about Jose Mourinho taking over at Spurs. As a coach that has been there at the top of his game for so long and has been in every kind of situation, I think he could have the answers for some of the difficulties Spurs are facing. But would he make them better?"

"I don't know because it is the same team, yes you can have a bit of a lift in the beginning, like Manchester United did when [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer came in, but then you need to keep going, otherwise you are going to slip into a spiral."

He added,

"For me though, Pochettino needs to stay there, he's been there for a long time. I remember Sir Alex Ferguson telling us a team needs to be changed when four years passes, not the whole team, but some players."

"After four years, some players start to get complacent and they aren't challenged anymore, they are in with the manager and they are comfortable, so a manager needs to shake things up and bring in new players."

"This could be the case with Spurs, a lot of the players have been there a long time and maybe they need to shake things up and try to push the players in a way."

What's next?

Tottenham will return to Premier League action after the international break when they face Watford on October 19. They will be looking to get a season that has been turbulent so far back on track.