With Ange Postecoglou unable to save his job as Tottenham Hotspur manager despite helping the club win the UEFA Europa League, its first major trophy in 17 years, we take a look at some of the top candidates likely to replace the Australian.

Helping Tottenham Hotspur win their first major trophy in 17 years wasn’t enough for Ange Postecoglou to save his job as manager, with the Australian getting sacked from the role on Friday. The bombshell of an announcement came just half a month after Postecoglou’s men defeated Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao to win the UEFA Europa League, adding a trophy to their cabinet for the first time since  Juande Ramos’ side won the League Cup.

Tottenham however, had finished 17th in the 2024-25 Premier League season, just above the relegation zone, after 22 defeats in 38 games, which had already cast a shadow on his future at the north London club.

The Eu meropa League triumph was an aberration in what was ultimately a disastrous season for a team that had finished runners-up at the UEFA Champions League just six years ago. And for a club that was seen as a regular in the Premier League top six, fighting relegation certainly is embarrassing.

In the end, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy decided not to take a leaf out of Manchester United’s book and give Postecoglou another shot the way the ‘Red Devils’ extended Erik Ten Hag’s job last year, and made his exit official.

So who are the candidates likely to replace “Big Ange” at Spurs? We take a look at some of the names currently doing the rounds:

Frank, Iraola top candidates to replace Postecoglou

According to BBC Sport,  Brentford boss Thomas Frank is a favourite to succeed Postecoglou as Spurs manager in the following season. The 51-year-old has been in charge of ‘The Bees’ since 2018 and has not only steered them into the Premier League from the Championship, he helped them finish 10th this season – seven places above Tottenham and five above United.

Also in contention is Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, whose team finished level on 56 points with Brentford but finished ahead at the ninth spot due to a superior Goal Difference. Iraola’s heroics in Spain – helping second-tier clubs Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano into the semi-finals of Copa del Rey and steering the latter into LaLiga – further helps boost his chances of landing the job at Tottenham.

Also in contention are Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner. While Silva’s Fulham finished just two points short of Bournemouth and Brentford, Glasner helped Crystal Palace pull off their biggest victory ever – a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the League Cup final that helped them win the first trophy of its 120-year history and condemned Pep Guardiola to a trophyless season.

Is Pochettino set for a Spurs comeback?

Mauricio Pochettino managed the cub for five years from 2014 to 2019, helping the club make their only appearance in a Champions League final during this period besides finishing among the top three in three consecutive seasons (2015-2018). And though he did not win a trophy with the club during his time in charge, Pochettino certainly ranks among the greatest gaffers in Spurs’ history.

Pochettino has had one-year spells with Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea since he was sacked by Spurs just six months after the Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool 0-2, and currently manages the United States men’s football team.

And when asked about the possibility for a second spell at his old club on Saturday, a day after Postecoglou’s firing, the Argentine chose to play down the talk.

“After I left in 2019, every time that I was free, and the place of the position of the manager or head coach in Tottenham Hotspur (was vacant), my name is appearing on the list.

“If you have seen the rumors, I think there are 100 coaches in the list. I think, don’t be worried about that,” Pochettino said during a press conference after USA’s 2-1 home defeat against Turkey in a friendly.

Pochettino added that a move back to Tottenham is “not realistic”, but did not rule out the possibility with absolute certainty.

“If something happened, you for sure you will see, but we cannot talk about this type of thing, because I think today, it’s not real. It’s not realistic. And look at where I am, where we are.

“And the thing is, the answer is so clear, no? But we’re talking about it because it’s my club, like Newells or Espanyol,” he added.