Next Tottenham manager odds: Pochettino odds-on to replace Conte

Coral have installed former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as the 1-3 favourite to replace current Spurs supremo Antonio Conte, whose time in north London appears to be running out following Tottenham’s Champions League exit on Wednesday night.

Conte's odds to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post contracted sharply on Thursday and the Italian is now the odds-on favourite in that market with a number of firms, although Coral and Ladbrokes both go 11-8. 

Spurs’ chances of ending a 15-year silverware drought came to a meek end following their goalless draw with Milan at a soggy Tottenham Stadium as the Serie A side advanced to the quarter-finals 1-0 on aggregate. 

Tottenham’s Champions League departure capped a disastrous seven days for the north London club in which they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United before their top-four hopes took a hit with a 1-0 loss to Wolves.

Bookmakers have responded to Spurs’ latest setback by cutting Conte’s odds to be shown the door, nudging him ahead of West Ham’s David Moyes in what’s now appears a two-horse race after the pressure on Chelsea boss Graham Potter eased slightly following back-to-back victories over Leeds and Borussia Dortmund.

Sky Sports reported that several senior players are eager to see Pochettino return to north London, where the Argentinian is still held in high regard by the club’s hierarchy. He is 1-3 with Coral to replace Conte at the helm with former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and Barcelona boss Luis Enrique 8-1 shots and Zinedine Zidane 10-1.

Conte’s contract expires at the end of the season and recent reports in Italy suggest he is plotting a summer return to his homeland amid rumours Inter want him back. But the dramatic contraction of his price in the sack race market - Hills made him 11-1 to be the next manager to go on Tuesday - suggest he may not see out Spurs’ final 12 games of the season and the 53-year-old has admitted his time in north London may be running short.

“My contract expires in June, we will see – they might sack me even before the end of the season. Perhaps the expectations were higher and they may be disappointed,” Conte said, following the goalless draw with Milan.

Conte was back in the dugout for the second leg of the round-of-16 tie against the Italian champions following gallbladder surgery. But his presence made little difference as the home side registered just two attempts on target and finished the game with ten men following Cristian Romero’s red card.

Conte might not be the only big name to depart Tottenham in the coming months - Betfair go 5-2 that Manchester United sign England skipper Harry Kane this summer.

Spurs’ record goalscorer has just over a year left to run on his current deal and is unlikely to be short of suitors should he push for a move away.

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport