Igor Tudor has had 12 jobs in 11 years and never managed in the Premier League. That’s why he’s Tottenham’s £100m gamble, writes OLIVER HOLT

Igor Tudor was a good player and an uncompromising defender. He was strong and smart. He was part of the formidable Juventus squad of the late 90s and early 2000s and played alongside some of the game’s best, including Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps and Edgar Davids.

But his playing career is a distant memory and his managerial achievements pale in comparison.

As a manager he is nowhere near the aristocracy in football, but on Friday afternoon it was announced that Tottenham Hotspur have selected him as the man to steer them away from danger of relegation from the Premier League.

The truth is that Spurs have entrusted their fight for top-flight survival to an underachieving player in the here-today-gone-tomorrow series who won one trophy in his 13 years as club manager. And that was the Croatian Cup against Hajduk Split in 2013.

It’s fair to say they didn’t go after the cream of the crop. If Tudor’s managerial record were to be described as ‘uneven’, that would clearly be generous for a boss who has passed Hajduk Split, PAOK, Karabükspor, Galatasaray, Udinese, Hellas Verona, Marseille, Lazio and Juventus like a dose of salt.

It seems hard to believe, but instead of trying to attract a coach of the caliber of Roberto de Zerbi or Andoni Iraola, what Spurs did was take a £100m gamble on a non-managerial body so they would be free to appoint their dream candidate Mauricio Pochettno this summer.

Tottenham’s dream is to bring Mauricio Pochettino, who is currently the head of the USA, to the team.

They know that US coach Pochettino will not be free to join them until the co-hosts’ participation in the World Cup is over. Rather than appoint a permanent, quality manager and give up on the Pochettino dream, they have taken a huge risk in having Tudor help them retain their Premier League status in the coming months.

It may turn out to be an inspired move. There is some statistical support to support the claim that he makes an immediate positive impact at a new club before things turn sour. But it could also emerge as one of the most egregious examples of a club putting the cart before the horse in top-flight history.

Because if he returns to his Tudor style and his results are mediocre, then Spurs will be relegated and Pochettino will be in charge of the Championship team when he comes in the summer. His California tan will quickly disappear during his visits to Preston and Portsmouth.

Because this is not an easy task. Indeed, Tudor, 47, faces an extremely difficult task to keep Spurs out of the bottom three. When Thomas Frank was sacked earlier this week, Tottenham were just five points off the relegation zone and trending downwards.

The fixture awaiting him is challenging. The first is a home game against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday each week, and if this is to be a free kick and perhaps a chance to escape some of the uncertainty that looms over the minds of their North London rivals, the fixtures that follow offer little respite.

They go like this: Fulham away, Crystal Palace at home, Liverpool away, Nottingham Forest at home and Sunderland away. A few of these matches are against other opponents but Tudor’s task is complicated by the fact that the pressure of relegation will be heavier on Spurs than against less major opponents.

This is also the case in the relegation fight. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. While teams like West Ham and Leeds United are doing their best, Spurs and their fans are feeling the shame and disgrace of being dragged into the relegation battle.

Under these circumstances, it is difficult to understand why Spurs would not opt ​​for De Zerbi, who is available, or Bournemouth manager Iraola, who might be available. De Zerbi would send a ray of light into the club, pushing them away from the bottom three with his intensity and brilliance. Iraola is a world-class coach who ensures survival.

Tottenham face a tough run of fixtures and sit just five points ahead of 18th-placed West Ham.

It’s hard to understand why Tottenham didn’t select someone like Roberto De Zerbi (pictured), who was available after leaving Marseille, or try to tempt Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

But Tudor’s selection is a worrying hint that the hierarchy at Tottenham are trying to navigate a game they don’t understand following the departure of former chairman Daniel Levy last summer.

Levy was the center of the club. Everything went through him. Although he is very unpopular with many fans due to his lack of ambition, things have never been this dangerous during his time. And last year they won the Europa League in the final months of his tenure.

Now there is a more amorphous group in charge; a group of people who are starting to look like a coalition of the damned; a group comprising billionaire owner Joe Lewis, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and various members of sporting director Johan Lange’s family.

Tudor’s appointment is another step towards the edge of the cliff. With luck it will pull them back from the brink, but even a year in the Championship could cost the club £100m in lost revenue. It is a great belief to recruit a man who won the Croatian Cup 13 years ago.