Former England striker Alan Shearer has revealed his surprise at the timing of Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham departure but admitted he can see why Daniel Levy made the decision.
The Argentine head coach left Spurs on Tuesday night after he was sacked following five years at the club, replaced less than 24 hours later by Jose Mourinho.
With Tottenham 14th in the Premier League table and showing no sign of improving their laboured form and performances, Levy made the bold decision to axe one of the most popular managers in the club's history.
Having led Spurs to a first-ever Champions League final in May, the decision came as a shock to many, including Shearer.
The ex-Newcastle frontman admitted he was surprised by the timing of the announcement but feels something had to give after a number of public outbursts from Pochettino towards Levy's handling of affairs behind the scenes.
"I was really surprised, surprised at the timing. If there is one guy who had a bit of credit in the bank because of Champions League final, because of what he's achieved with a limited budget, getting into the Champions League places, developing players, handling what he did last season with the stadium.
"Putting all that together, someone who I w would have thought had some credit in the bank was Pochettino at Spurs. Having said that, the players had stopped running for him, there is no doubt about that.
"The number of times over the past six months, we've highlighted the lack of energy, the lack of pressing this Tottenham side had given in terms of the previous two years where we'd always highlight the high energy when they used to after teams. We haven't seen that.
"Players had stopped running for him, players were out of contract and with his body language and his attitude when he was basically taking the board on when he said he's no longer a manager, he's just a coach. He doesn't make the decisions on the players coming in or going out, he's just the coach.
"That was a dig at was happening at Tottenham. In the end, something had to give."
He added: "There will be the managers of some big clubs will not be sitting easy knowing a guy of his calibre is available and free."
