Tottenham have sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas

Chat212 Sportsmail's Report
Tottenham have sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas in the wake of Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool.

The defeat was the club’s worst at White Hart Lane in 16 years and left Spurs seventh in the Premier League – eight points behind leaders Arsenal.

The blame game can now begin in earnest.

For some, Andre Villas-Boas is responsible for failing to get £107million worth of talent to gel at White Hart Lane after the Portuguese manager’s contract was torn-up in the wake of Tottenham’s 5-0 home humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.

For others, the decision by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to part company with his manager less than 24-hours after their latest drubbing represents a knee-jerk reaction.

After all, how can Villas-Boas have been expected to create a finely-oiled machine following the departure of his matchwinner Gareth Bale and the arrival of eight foreign players new to the Barclays Premier League in such a short period of time?

If the writing was not already on the wall for Villas-Boas following the capitulation against Liverpool, then it certainly was when he decided to rope Levy and technical director Franco Baldini into the mess.

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 had come under increasing pressure in recent weeks as his side struggled to keep pace with the top four in the league.

His side 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.

“We wish Andre well for the future,” added the Spurs statement. “We shall make a further announcement in due course.”