Tottenham director Johan Lange suggests Igor Tudor may secure a permanent position with victories and an offensive style of play.

Tottenham Hotspur’s sporting director Johan Lange has indicated that interim head coach Igor Tudor may be considered for the permanent position, as he stated that the style of play will be “high up on the list” when evaluating potential candidates.

Tudor will oversee his first match in the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday, having taken over from Thomas Frank, who was dismissed last week after a brief tenure of eight months.

Currently, Spurs are positioned 16th in the Premier League, just five points clear of the relegation zone. Tudor, 47, has no prior experience in England but has won Serie A twice as a player with Juventus, where he most recently served as manager before his dismissal in October.

The Croatian has held coaching roles at various clubs, including Hajduk Split, Galatasaray, Udinese, Marseille, and Lazio. In a statement announcing his appointment, Spurs emphasized his history of achieving immediate improvements at clubs as a significant reason for his selection.

During a press conference at Tottenham’s training facility on Friday, Lange remarked: “He has demonstrated the ability to step into clubs around this time, February, March, particularly at larger clubs, and made an immediate impact on performance.

“That was certainly a major factor [in hiring him]. There is a substantial difference if you are a coach who has only just started a new role on July 1. You have six or seven weeks to prepare and familiarize yourself with the club.

“I am not suggesting that is necessarily easy, but it presents a different challenge. If you arrive on a Monday and have a match that weekend, you must quickly establish relationships with the players.

“You need to build connections while also assessing the club’s style right away. He has proven successful in doing this, not just once but several times.

“This is one of the reasons we believe he is the best candidate at this moment, and of course, with his reputation and accomplishments in his career, if things progress positively, he could remain here for an extended period.”

Sources have informed ESPN that former Spurs manager and current United States coach Mauricio Pochettino is a prominent candidate for the role, and his name was chanted by fans during their last home match under Frank, which ended in a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle.

However, Lange declined to comment on future plans or specific candidates. “Igor has been here for five days,” Lange stated.

“Our current focus is to climb higher in the league standings, while also concentrating on the Champions League. That is our priority at this moment, and I trust you can appreciate that. I will not discuss any names linked to the position.”

When asked how much the style of play would factor into the selection of a potential manager, especially after fans expressed dissatisfaction with Frank’s approach, Lange responded: “It is certainly something that is high on the agenda.

“We are very ambitious in our goal to develop a team that can play dominant football and control matches with the ball for several reasons. If you observe nearly every league globally, it is evident that the top teams typically succeed by dominating possession, creating opportunities, and being aggressive without the ball, which is indeed the style of football we aspire to.

“Additionally, we are a club with a rich history of having some of the finest offensive players in the world and a distinct style of play that resonates with our history and our fans. I believe that combining a possession-dominant, aggressive style of play with our historical identity is essential.”

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Lange, who confirmed he is on a “rolling contract” with Spurs, defended the club’s transfer record following comments from former manager Ange Postecoglou—along with Frank to a lesser extent—who both questioned the club’s competitiveness in the market.

Postecoglou stated that Spurs “are not a big club” in terms of committing wages to players, while Spurs missed the opportunity to sign Antoine Semenyo in January as the winger opted to join Manchester City from Bournemouth.

Lange remarked: “I will not sit here and comment on the remarks of a former employee of the club. [Chief executive] Vinai [Venkatesham] mentioned earlier this year, or late last year, in the match day programme that we, as a club, need to increase our wage bill to remain competitive.

“I believe Thomas made some comments regarding players in January, and it was certainly not due to a lack of effort or emotion on our part that those players are not here today.

“In any transaction, it requires three parties. It necessitates a player’s agreement, and we cannot control a player’s decision to pursue a career with another club, which is unfortunately beyond our control.”