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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lee Wilmot

Why Jose Mourinho is the head coach and not the manager at Tottenham and what it really means

Jose Mourinho has succeeded Mauricio Pochettino as the man in charge at Tottenham Hotspur.

Pochettino was sacked after five-and-a-half years in charge on Tuesday evening.

And 11 hours later Jose Mourinho was in the hotseat.

But Mourinho takes over at Tottenham, not as manager, but as head coach.

Head coach was the title Pochettino originally had at Spurs when he joined the club in 2015, before becoming manager when he signed a new contract in 2016.

He said then: "We are agreed that it would be good, for myself, for the club, for all.

"It's true that 'manager' is a word that means different things than head coach. Maybe I was always manager from the first day I arrived here - and maybe it describes my job better."

But after Pochettino was sacked on Tuesday, Mourinho was appointed as head coach again.

So what does it mean and why is Mourinho the head coach and not the manager?

Mauricio Pochettino sacked as manager of Spurs

The title of head coach implies that others within a club structure are taking charge of recruitment and transfers - something Pochettino took umbrage with towards the end of his reign.

Speaking during the summer transfer window, Pochettino said: "These types of things, what will happen, what will not happen, selling and buying of players, extending contracts, not extending contracts, I think it is not in my hands. It is in the club hands, and Daniel Levy. At the moment I am managing the team in the best way possible.

"Maybe the club need to change my title description, because my job now is to coach the team. It is not a question for me, it is a question for the club. Maybe the club are going to change my title description.

"Of course I am the boss, deciding the strategy to play, training, mentality, philosophy in my area, but in another area, I think I am the coach the coach."

Mourinho is not alone in being head coach, with Unai Emery and Frank Lampard given the same title at Arsenal and Chelsea respectively.

What it means crucially for Mourinho is that while he will have a say in transfers and Tottenham's recruitment strategy, the ultimate decision on signings and outgoings rests with chairman Daniel Levy.

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