Southampton face battle to keep boss as Spurs consider Sherwood axe

1 Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino

Southampton could face a fight to keep manager Mauricio Pochettino as Spurs eye the Argentine as a potential replacement for Tim Sherwood.

The former Espanyol boss has been a huge hit on the south coast following the shock sacking of Nigel Adkins last year.

Saints owner Katharina Liebherr is keen to tie down Pochettino to a bumper new deal and the club’s new chairman Ralph Kruger revealed he recently held positive talks with the 44-year-old.

However, talkSPORT understands Southampton could now have a battle on their hands to keep their highly-rated boss with Tottenham circling.

Tim Sherwood was handed an 18-month deal in December when he was appointed as Andre Villas-Boas’ successor, but the north London club are already considering making a change.

Back-to-back league defeats against Chelsea and Arsenal have all but ended Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and privately they are looking at alternatives to Sherwood for next season.

And Pochettino, who recently rubbished speculation linking him with the top job at Real Madrid, is understood to feature high on their shortlist.