Tottenham next manager candidate was subject of dressing room coup and huge revolt

Tottenham's next permanent manager will have to contend with a difficult dressing room dynamic, something one candidate knows plenty about from his last job

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic is reportedly in the mix to take the reins from Igor Tudor at Tottenham.

Tudor, 47, has agreed to temporary charge until the end of the season. The former Galatasaray, Marseille and Juventus head coach bridges the gap while chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange explore a wider selection of candidates for a summer appointment.

Among them is German-Croatian coach Terzic, 43, who rose through the ranks at Dortmund after first working as a scout in the Bundesliga club's academy, reporting directly to then-manager Jurgen Klopp. An interim spell in charge of the first team for the second half of the 2020/21 season saw him win the DFB-Pokal.

And then after his replacement Marco Rose, who's also in the frame for Spurs' dugout vacancy, left by mutual consent at the end of the following campaign, Terzic finally got a permanent shot at the job himself.

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It remains the sole senior full-time position on his CV, albeit one that reads very well on paper. Dortmund came agonisingly close to ending Bayern Munich's decade-long dominance of the league in his first year.

They missed out on the title on goal difference after being held to a 2-2 draw by Mainz on the final day. The following season was far less impressive domestically as they could only manage a fifth-place finish, but they reached the Champions League final before a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid broke Black and Yellow hearts again.

However, behind the scenes, Terzic had been contending with a player revolt. In December 2023, Sky Germany reported that a large section of the squad wanted him gone because of his lack of influence in training.

While they were fond of his character, they felt he was lacking in the tactics department, including a distinct deficiency in pressing. His defensive play style wasn't proving popular, with certain players even going behind his back and stating their case to then-CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.

According to Bild, club legend Marco Reus was one of the leading figures behind the coup. The pleas fell on deaf ears, with Watzke refusing to wield the axe on Terzic midway through the season.

It was merely a stay of execution, though. As is often the case, player power won out eventually, with Terzic requesting his own exit at the end of the campaign, presumably deeming his position untenable amid such rife untrust.

That could perhaps ring alarm bells for Spurs, who the Telegraph say have added him and Rose to their list of managerial candidates. Roberto De Zerbi, who departed Marseille this week, and fan favourite former boss Mauricio Pochettino, who's committed to leading the United States at their home World Cup this summer, are also in contention, as well as Ferencváros head coach and ex-striker Robbie Keane.

Terzic is said to be keen on a Premier League job, having turned down several positions across Europe in the last 18 months. Time will tell if that interest is mutual.

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