Tottenham’s pursuit of André Villas-Boas is a surprise, says Glenn Hoddle

Glenn Hoddle has admitted Tottenham Hotspur’s imminent appointment of former Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas is a “surprise”.

The 34-year-old will replace Harry Redknapp, who was sacked after a dramatic slump in form saw Spurs finish in fourth place and miss out on Champions League football next season.

Villas-Boas signed a three-year contract with Chelsea last season but struggled to overhaul the squad while maintaining the club’s pursuit of a top-four finish and was sacked in March.

And Hoddle, who played for both Chelsea and Spurs, has questioned Tottenham’s decision to recruit Villas-Boas, suggesting the coach would have been better served going abroad to gain more experience before taking on another high-pressure Premier League position.

“I’m surprised, I did not think that is the way Spurs would go,” Hoddle told ESPN. “It’s more than a slight risk because of the way things didn’t work out at Chelsea.

“I thought it might have been better for him to go and reinvent himself elsewhere before he had another crack at English football.

“Hiring Villas-Boas is a decision that maybe shouldn’t have needed to be made. They were in a position with Harry where if they just added two or three more players, and spent a bit of money they could have really kicked on.

“It would probably have been better to add to the squad, rather than making a decision that may result in players wanting to leave.

“However, the decision has been made and it’s a key moment for Tottenham. Everyone at Spurs has to get behind him and hope that everything goes well.”

André Villas-Boas factfile

• An amateur player in his teens with Ramaldense and Clube Marechal Gomes da Costa, Villas-Boas never played professional football, laying the groundwork for a coaching career with a spell as a teenage talent scout during Sir Bobby Robson’s spell as coach of Porto in the mid-1990s.

• Still in his 20s, he took on a role as technical director with the British Virgin Islands in 2000, but was back working with Porto’s youth players by the time José Mourinho took him into his inner circle following his appointment as Porto coach in January 2002.

• Initially detailed to scout upcoming opponents, he followed ‘The Special One’ from success to success at Porto, Chelsea and Internazionale before striking out on his own as coach of Académica in October 2009.

• An 11th-placed finish in his only season in Coimbra was enough to persuade Porto to bring him in as Jesualdo Ferreira’s replacement; hired in June 2010, he became the club’s youngest ever coach aged just 32.

• Villas-Boas oversaw a memorable 2010-11 campaign at the Estádio do Dragão, becoming the first Portuguese to guide a side through a Liga campaign unbeaten, winning the Super Cup, national championship and Portuguese Cup as well as the Uefa Europa League after beating SC Braga in the Dublin final.

• He joined Chelsea on a three-year deal in June 2011 but was sacked in March 2012 following a poor string of results.

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