Tudor could get Tottenham job on a permanent basis, says sporting director Lange

Igor Tudor could be at Tottenham "for a long time" if the interim boss makes a positive impact at the club, sporting director Johan Lange has said.

The Croatian was appointed head coach on a temporary basis earlier this month, following the dismissal of Thomas Frank with Spurs 16th in the Premier League.

Tottenham are just five points clear of the relegation zone, ahead of facing Arsenal in Sunday's north London derby.

The 47-year-old has developed a reputation for hitting the ground running at new clubs, having done so during his tenures with Lazio and Juventus.

"He has shown the capabilities of coming into clubs around this time – February, March – and also big clubs, and made an immediate performance impact," Lange said.

"That was, of course, a very big reason [for hiring him]. There is a big difference, if you are a coach, for example, who has only started a new job on July 1. You have six or seven weeks to prepare to get to know the club.

"I'm not saying that is necessarily easy, but that's a different challenge. If you come here on the Monday and you are playing at the weekend, you need to build relationships with the players immediately.

"You need to come in to build relationships but, of course, assess the style of the club immediately. He has shown that with great success, not only once but a few times, to come into that.

"That is one of the reasons why we believe he is the best candidate here now, but of course, also with his reputation and what he's done in his career. If things go well, he could be here for a long time."

Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with a return to the club he managed between 2014 and 2019, guiding them to the Champions League final during his tenure.

Lange refused to comment on speculation surrounding the United States head coach, but said style of play would be "high up on the list" when considering Spurs' next permanent appointment.

"Igor has been here for five days," he added. "Our focus right now is to get high up in the table in the league, focusing on the Champions League as well.

"That is our focus right now, and I am sure you can understand that. I am not going to comment on any names that have been linked to the job.

"We are very ambitious to create a team that can play dominant football and that can control the matches with the ball for a few reasons.

"If you look across almost every league in the world, that is how you can say the top teams are normally successful – that is being able to dominate possession, create chances, be aggressive without the ball and so that is, of course, football.

"Then we are also a club with a rich history of having some of the best offensive players in the world and having a very particular style of play that resonates with the history, resonates with the fans and I think that combined with having a possession-dominant, aggressive style of play, those two things go hand in hand."