Swansea City boss Steve Cooper has recently been linked with the managerial vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur, after they parted company with Jose Mourinho. 

Ryan Mason has taken temporary charge of the Premier League side, but was unable to pick up silverware at the first opportunity at the weekend, as Spurs were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at Wembley.

Cooper is among the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Steven Gerrard as potential managerial contenders to take charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having caught the eye whilst with Swansea City.

The Swans are currently sat fifth in the Championship table, and will be hoping they can win promotion back into the Premier League under Cooper's management this term.

Speaking in a recent interview with This is Futbol, former Premier League midfielder Lee Hendrie admitted that he wasn't convinced that appointing a manager from the Championship would be worth the risk for Spurs.

"I can’t see how they would take a gamble on a Championship manager. I might be wrong, but I just feel… would the fans be happy with that? Personally, I don’t think they would. That’s no disrespect to Steve Cooper; he’s done excellent in the Championship.

"You’ve got to look at what managers have achieved and what they’ve won and then that’s when you sort of take reflection on what managers come into the club. When you look at when Poch was there, Mourinho was there, you just think that’s a big backward step."

Cooper's Swansea City side are set to return to action this weekend, when they take on relegation-threatened Derby County, in what could potentially be a tricky test up against Wayne Rooney's side, who will be desperate to pick up a much-needed win to boost their survival chances.

 

 

The Verdict: 

You can partly understand where Hendrie is coming from here.

Tottenham Hotspur need a manager with a proven track record of success, and Cooper doesn't quite fit that description just yet.

That's not to say that Cooper wouldn't be a good appointment for Spurs later down the line, but the Swansea City boss is still relatively early into his managerial spell in England, and it would be considered somewhat of a risk for Spurs to appoint him at this stage.

Swansea City's supporters will be hoping that this recent rumour doesn't impact their push for promotion into the Premier League, as they're in with a real chance of a timely return to the top-flight this term.