'There is nobody else': Journalist shares who will take charge at Spurs if Conte is sacked now

By Charles Jones

Speaking in The View from The Lane Podcast, The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke has shared some insight into the managerial situation at Tottenham and what will happen if Antonio Conte is to leave the club.

First and foremost, Pitt-Brooke said that if Conte is sacked now, Ryan Mason would likely be placed in charge on an interim basis – just as he was in 2021 when Jose Mourinho was sacked towards the end of the season.

Looking further afield, Pitt-Brooke went on to name the four most likely potential replacements for Conte in the long-term, naming Luis Enrique, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi as candidates.

Mason for now, four in the frame for later

Pitt-Brooke shared what he knows about the protocol if Conte is sacked.

“Again, the likeliest thing is that they do an interim, short-term replacement which would be Ryan Mason because there is nobody else. Then the bigger job of who is the next long-term manager,” Pitt-Brooke said.

“Then the bigger job of appointing the next long-term manager, is it Enrique, Pochettino, Tuchel or De Zerbi? Who, off the top of my head are the four likeliest candidates. That’s not to say it can’t be anyone outside of those four because we know how these things change.”

Mason’s big chance

Mason could get another go in the Spurs dugout if Antonio Conte is sacked in the coming weeks, and that represents another huge chance for him to prove his ability as a coach.

Back in 2021, he didn’t manage to get Spurs into the top four, but now, with an incredibly talented squad at his disposal and a strong league position, he could actually get Tottenham into next season’s Champions League.

A good interim job at Spurs could lead to Mason getting his first full-time role in management, whether that’s in the Premier League or the EFL, and this is a huge chance for him to put himself in the shop window.

Of course, that hinges on Antonio Conte being sacked before the end of the season, but if Spurs’ slump continues, that outcome will become more and more likely.