Tim Sherwood sacked: Most successful Tottenham manager in Premier League era axed after six-months in charge

Tim Sherwood has left Tottenham Hotspur after five months in charge, club chairman Daniel Levy has confirmed.

Speculation that Sherwood would be replaced at the end of the season has blighted Spurs' campaign since the former midfielder took over in December, following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas.

With reports that both Ajax' Frank de Boer and Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino are in line to replace Sherwood, the 45-year-old appeared to resign himself to the fact that he would be axed sooner rather than later, with the curtain coming down on his short reign at White Hart Lane on Tuesday afternoon.

VIDEO: Sherwood says Spurs expected too much

A statement issued by Levy explained that when Sherwood was appointed on a permanent contract, a clause was agreed that the club could part company with him at the end of the season should they feel the need to, despite offering an 18-month contract that runs until the end of next season.

The statement read: "We appointed Tim mid-season as someone who knew both the players and the club.

"We agreed an 18-month contract with a break clause at the end of the season and we have now exercised that option.

"Since appointing Tim as assistant first team coach in 2008 and then as technical co-ordinator in 2010 and head of football development in 2012, we have been supportive of him during football management changes throughout that period. On behalf of the club, I should like to state our thanks for all his efforts during his years with us. We wish him great success in his managerial career.

"Moving forward, now the season is over, we shall embark on the process of finding a new head coach. We have a talented squad and exciting young players coming through. We need to build on this season, develop our potential and inspire the kind of performances that we associate with our great club."

With a number of managerial sackings either being executed in the past few days or expected in the weeks to come, Sherwood has been linked with a number of clubs who are seeking a new manager.

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West Brom dismissed Pepe Mel on Monday even though he kept the club in the Premier League less than 24 hours previous, and Sherwood is one of the front runners to take over at The Hawthorns.

He has also been linked with Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion following Oscar Garcia's resignation after the Seagulls lost the play-off semi-final against Derby, although Sherwood has admitted in the past his preference to remain a Premier League manager after his first taste of first-team management.

As far as Spurs' next manager is concerned, the bookmakers' favourite remains Pochettino, with the Saints manager admitting that his current project with the south coast club is over and he needs to begin a new one - he did not specify whether this was with another club or not.

Earlier in the season Louis van Gaal had been the number one candidate to take over the Spurs hot-seat in the summer once his commitments with the Netherlands national team comes to an end, but he now appears to be inching closer to becoming Manchester United's new manager following the conclusion of the World Cup.

Another to be linked with Spurs was Everton's Roberto Martinez, but the highly-rated Spaniard dismissed any possibility of leaving the Toffees and said any speculation saying he would consider the move would be taken as praise for his performance at Goodison Park. The switch would have to be deemed as a somewhat sideways move, given that Martinez's side beat Spurs to fifth place this season, although the larger financial opportunities at Tottenham could prove to be an attraction given their higher spending power than Everton's.