London - Tottenham Hotspur's rapidly unravelling season took another twist with first team coach Tim Sherwood set to be replaced in the summer, according to media reports.
The former England midfielder, a Premier League title winner with Blackburn Rovers, was handed an 18-month contract in December following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas but results since have been inconsistent.
Tottenham would not comment on Sky Sports report that the 45-year-old Sherwood would be relieved of his duties in the summer, although more light should be shed on the matter later when Spurs host Sunderland in the Premier League.
Sherwood's future has been the source of much speculation since he publicly slated his team for a “lack of guts” after a 4-0 thrashing by London rivals Chelsea last month.
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has been linked with the Tottenham job once his World Cup duties are over.
“It's just one stage at a time and I've got six cup finals between now and the end of the season,” former Spurs midfielder Sherwood told reporters ahead of the Sunderland match.
“It's really important to me that we show the fans something to make them optimistic about next season.
“It was a case of just cracking on. But whatever decisions I make are my decisions. If I'm going to go down, I'll go down my way.”
Despite selling their best player Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in August, Tottenham were strongly tipped to challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League after investing nearly 100 million pounds in new signings.
However, the likes of Spain striker Roberto Soldado, Brazil midfielder Paulinho and Argentine youngster Erik Lamela have failed to gel, costing Villas-Boas his job before Christmas after heavy defeats by Man City and Liverpool.
The straight-talking Sherwood, who was promoted from working with the club's under 18s, did initially make an impact with Tottenham maintaining their push for the top four - the standout result being a New Year's Day victory at Manchester United in which rejuvenated striker Emmanuel Adebayor scored.
Performances have tailed off alarmingly though and Tottenham went out of the Europa League to Benfica in March and also suffered league defeats against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, virtually ending their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
Before Monday's home clash with bottom club Sunderland the club were seventh in the table, eight points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with a game in hand. – Reuters