In an exclusive interview with Best Offshore Sportsbooks, former England striker Teddy Sheringham gives his opinion on Thomas Tuchel’s controversial appointment.

Sheringham also calls on Rashford to step up in Ruben’s United revolution.

Premier League observations

Q: Teddy on the title race

Teddy Sheringham: “The Premier League title is going to be between Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal. I can’t see any other team performing consistently enough to break into that group and challenge.

I think Chelsea have been impressive, but I don’t think they’ll be as consistent as the top three that are in there.

Liverpool are looking fantastic at the moment, but I think they’ll have their little troughs.

Manchester City, they’re going to come good again at some stage. Arsenal are the other ones in the title hunt as well, and they will want to close the gap quickly so that they’re not out of the race as well.

I think the good point from Arsenal is that it’s Liverpool out in front and not Man City because Man City are the ones that know how to close things and Liverpool are still under a new manager. As brilliant as they’ve been this season, I have my doubts about them going the distance. I don’t think anyone could say with certainty that they will win the league because you’re not sure what you’re going to get from them over the entire season with it being Arne Slot’s first campaign at the club.”

Q: Teddy on the top four

Teddy Sheringham: “The race for fourth place will be a tight contest between a lot of clubs. I expect that pecking order to change many, many times throughout the season. A three-game run could get you in there away from other teams. Three games later it’ll be someone else and someone else.

Aston Villa, Tottenham, Chelsea, they’re all vying for that other position. Newcastle will be quite good and I can see them having a real go at it.

Nottingham Forest are in there at the moment but I can’t see them lasting that long.

Aston Villa. They’re a more organised, structured and powerful team than anyone else. Chelsea will probably run them quite close, Newcastle will run them quite close as well, but out of teams competing for a place in the Champions League, I think Aston Villa are the one that have got the firepower to finish fourth.”

Q: Sheringham names Mo Salah as his player of the season so far

Teddy Sheringham: “I would probably have to go with Mo Salah if I was picking a player that has really stood out in the Premier League this season. You’ve got to look at the top of the division if you’re picking one player and saying, why are they so good? He’s still scoring and creating goals.

The question mark is still out about what he’s going to be doing at the end of the season, and when you’ve got a lot of speculation around you, it’s hard to focus sometimes as a player.  It’s hard to concentrate. You’re probably looking at what’s going to be happening in the summer or even in January.

Credit to him for putting that to one side and doing the business on the pitch.”

Q: If you had to name an unsung hero, a player that might not play for one of the league’s giants, who would it be and why? 

Teddy Sheringham: “I would pick Micky van der Ven at Tottenham as the Premier League’s top unsung hero. He’s been very, very impressive. When he plays, Tottenham look like a completely different team.

I think there’s a lot of top clubs looking at him and trying to understand why he doesn’t play a bigger role for Holland at an international level. He’s slipped through the net at international level, and in many ways, he slipped through the net for a lot of the clubs that are reported to be interested in signing him. Fair play to Tottenham for recruiting him and bringing into the football club last season, because from day one, he has been magnificent.

He’s the reason why Tottenham have started to get a bit more inconsistent results at the moment because he’s not been playing in the last few games.”

Q: Who is the best English player in the Premier League at this moment in time and why? 

Teddy Sheringham: “Declan Rice is the best English player in the Premier League. He makes a big difference to the teams that he plays in, whether he’s playing for England or Arsenal. He’s a big plus when you see his name on the team sheet. He leads by example, and he drags people along with him and says this is what we’re going to do today. I love his leadership qualities and his ability.

That’s what top players do. They set the example for the rest of the players to follow, and they bring people on the journey with them, having an impact on other players that improves the entire team.

He’s been a fantastic signing for Arsenal, and he’s a big reason why they are where they are now and competing at the top end of the division.”

Q: We saw Erik Ten Hag recently relieved of his duties at Manchester United, which manager do you think has the most to fear about their job security now the Dutchman has gone? 

Teddy Sheringham: “If you’d have asked me this question last week, I think the easy answer is Gary O’Neil at Wolves.

Against Southampton, he’s had a fantastic result. Playing against another team at the bottom, at a crucial time, and he’s got his first win so that will give him a little bit of relief.

But, if he loses his next two games, he’ll back in the same boat again and will probably be the favourite (to win the sack race) so he’s got to build on that victory over Southampton. Gary O’Neil knows that he’s got to win football matches, he knows he’s under pressure.

He’s a young manager, a talented manager, but the question mark’s a bit out: can he keep Wolves in the division?

It’s a tough ask. The Wolves hierarchy will be asking themselves. ‘Can we afford to go down and then bounce back up with this man? Do we have to get someone else in to make sure we stay in the division because it’s hard to get back up?’”

England internationals

Q: England have appointed Thomas Tuchel as their next permanent manager. What were your thoughts on that decision, and does it highlight a lack of top-class English coaches in the game at the moment? 

Teddy Sheringham: “I’m a little bit mystified by the appoint of Thomas Tuchel as England manager. I’m not so sure about it. England have made such great strides with Gareth Southgate. I know for a lot of people he wasn’t the be-all and end-all, but what he’s done for English football is immense.

He conducted himself in the best possible manner and transformed the narrative around the national team. I think he’s been impeccable all round and will be an incredibly difficult manager to replace.

For the FA to change the tactic and approach, to essentially change the direction of what they’ve built with Gareth by offering Thomas Tuchel an 18-month contract, a German manager who probably doesn’t give two hoots about what happens after is a really strange decision.

Whereas with Gareth, everything was about building and continuing to progress on the foundation that he built because he did a lot of good work during his eight-year tenure.

So, I find that a strange decision, but it’s one you’ve got to back at the moment because he’s got an outstanding group of players to work with when he does start.

I also don’t understand or like the fact that he’s not in there now. Why hasn’t he gone in there straight away, as soon as he signs the contract, to get to know players?

The FA have given Lee Carsley another couple of games, why? The players are going to wonder, who are we trying to impress here the new manager or the interim manager Lee Carsley.”

Q: Tuchel comes with pedigree of course, but, if the FA were going to go down the foreign route, would you have liked to have seen them be a bit more ambitious and have a word with Pep Guardiola given the uncertainty around his future? 

Teddy Sheringham: “There’s talk that they’re giving Tuchel 18 months so they can get Pep after the World Cup in 2026. If that is the route that the FA want to go down, you might as well keep the continuation of what Gareth’s done with Lee Carsley and keep him in charge for 18 months.

Had they decided to do that and kept Carlsey, I think you would be more optimistic about the future because he’s a manager that knows the young players coming through and he can continue that development progression for the younger players that are good enough to get into the senior squad. Tuchel could come in and scupper all that work that they’ve done.”

Manchester United

Q: All change at United. Erik Ten Hag has been sacked – is that a decision from INEOS that should have happened in the summer and are they fundamentally responsible for a season of drift is Ruben Amorim can’t have an impact when he joins?

Teddy Sheringham: “At the end of the day, we had enough of Ten Hag. I said he should have been gone ages ago. I’m surprised he lasted that long, especially with where he’s got Man United in the league. The Premier League is what it’s all about for Man United, for my liking. I know he won the FA Cup with one outstanding performance, but he should have gone in the summer.

The decision to appoint Ruben Amorim is not before time. It looks like they’ve picked the best man, the right man for the job to come in. They must have thought long and hard about it, about where they were going to go. They got an extra two or three months to find the right man after clearly having doubts about Ten Hag in the summer.

With the decision to bring him in, obviously there’s a few months gone in the season. It’s not the end of the world, that they’ve got a new manager in now. Things change very quickly. Everyone’s saying Man United are miles off of being the top club that they used to be, but if a manager comes in and gets it right, it can all change at Manchester United.”

Q: If you could pick one moment, could be a signing, could be a defeat, that epitomised Ten Hag’s failure at the club, what would it be and why? 

Teddy Sheringham: “There were so many horrible moments under Ten Hag’s management. The Champions League capitulations when in front. The poor signings.

If I had to pick one moment that summed up his failings at Manchester United, then I would go for the FA Cup semi-final performance against Coventry. It was a game where United are in total control and then from nowhere the wheels came off, the doors came off, the bonnet came off, everything came off and they were lucky to come through that and get to the final.

The writing was on the wall there. You’re playing against a lower league team that you should canter to victory against; see out the game without a doubt. They couldn’t do it. That was a massive thing for a Manchester United team to lose their way in that game.”

Q: Are you confident that Amorim is the right man to take United forward and do you have faith in the decision that Jim Ratcliffe and his team have made? 

Teddy Sheringham: “I think the more experience you get in life; you realise with all these big corporations that they’re always looking at the next step. They’re always planning for the future.

If you’re in front of people, if you’re still progressing, I think you have to look at how you can sustain that and stay in front. Even when things are going well, in any big corporation, you have to look and think, what happens if…

Ten Hag might have turned around and said, ‘I’ve had enough, bang, done.’ So, behind the scenes, they would have been looking and thinking, right, if he does that, what would we do?

We need to have another manager in place to take over right away. You know, performances aren’t great, what will we do? And I think you’re always looking.

But the writing was on the wall for Ten Hag when Man United didn’t get their man in the summer.

They give Ten Hag an extra year or whatever it was, gave him a new contract because they couldn’t find someone. Ten Hag knew that there were talks going on behind the scenes. He would have hoped to have turned it around, and had he done that, he keeps his job. Simple. There’s thousands of people that would want his job.

The reality is that he didn’t do enough to keep it.”

Q: In terms of immediate priorities, what do you think Amorim needs to do when he walks into Carrington? 

Teddy Sheringham: “Ruben Amorim’s first priority at Manchester United is to get the work ethic back into Manchester United. Without a doubt. It’s not about showing your skills and showing how good you are as a player. If you want to be successful, you need work ethic from the team, you need to understand as a player that everybody needs to help each other. Show a bit of passion and enthusiasm for the badge.

These players have to realise how privileged they are to play for Manchester United.

I’m trying to think of all the words that Sir Alex Ferguson would have used to make sure you understand what it is to play for Manchester United. You’re not playing for any other club in the country or in the world that is bigger. This is a club that is supported by millions around the globe, and they would change places with you in a heartbeat.

The players have to get that across with your individual performances and as a team. If Amorim can get that back, if he can get the right vibe and the crowd get behind them, that can snowball. The snowball effect could be unbelievable and could get United on a massive charge. He’s got to get that ball rolling with the players that he’s got at his disposal.

Q: From a players point of view, how important is that first week going to be for Amorim and his staff to make an impression? 

Teddy Sheringham: “It’s absolutely massive for Ruben Amorim to make a good first impression on the United players.

He can win players over in a heartbeat and he can lose players as well. Even though I like Ruud Gullit, I can remember him going into Newcastle and upsetting a few. And from the outside, I remember them thinking, ‘****ing hell, who’s this fella?’

I know he’s a big, major star, but I think he went in there with the wrong attitude and upset the top players like Shearer, Rob Lee and others. It was like, ‘****king hell, this is all we need.’ So, you know, you can go one way or another.

Well, you’ve seen the impact a new manager can have with what Ruud has done. Ruud has obviously changed one or two things. He’s cuddling a few people, making them feel good about themselves. All of a sudden, it looks like they’re playing as a team.

So, if Amorim can do this as well – things change very quickly in football, in good ways and bad ways. Man United have deteriorated on a major scale, but if you get the right manager in and he makes people feel good about themselves, the vibe at the club and in the dressing room completely changes all of a sudden.

I hope that he can be active in the transfer window and make a couple of big signings that excite the players and the fans. United need to start bringing in top, top players. Players that have the right vibe when they join the club and lead from the front. It doesn’t take a lot for football clubs to turn around, either way.

Ruud’s changed the vibe already. Let’s hope Amorim can carry on and do that.

United are still in all the cup competitions and they have a chance to go on a big run. They’re not going to win the league from here, but they can do well in every other competition that they’re in, without a doubt.”

Q: Who are a couple of players that have underperformed for United this season that Amorim will be desperate to get a tune out of? 

Teddy Sheringham: “I’m looking at these United players, and hey might not know it or think it, but they need to be led. Marcus Rashford needs to look at a manager and think, ‘I like the way he’s talking; I like his vibe, I understand exactly what he wants, and we need to go out and do it. I’m going to lead from the front.’

Younger players would then look at Rashford and think, ‘If you’re going to show me how it’s done, I’m following you as well. Come on, let’s all go together.’

He’s got to get the top players on his side very, very quickly.

Rashford is your main example because everyone looks to him. He’s the one that’s going to score your goals, going to make goals, and he’s the one that people look at and go, ‘He ain’t at it, is he?’

So, he needs to get him on board and get him leading from the front. He’s not a young lad anymore. He’s an experienced player. It’s funny how quickly you change from a young lad to an experienced ever-present player. All of a sudden, you’re experienced, you look around the changing room and you’re expected to lead.

He’s played for England many times and he should be leading from the front and he’s not doing that at Man United. That needs to change.”

Q: How promising was the victory that Amorim got over Manchester City in the Champions League?

Teddy Sheringham: “Without a doubt, that comprehensive victory over Manchester City was a promising sign. I don’t think it means a lot in the bigger picture of when Manchester City play Man United because he’s got a lot of work to do to get them performing the way that Sporting have been performing.

It’s not undoable. It’s a tough job to get everybody on side and to get them working exactly how you want them. That’s why they’ve gone out and got him because they’ve looked at every Sporting player and they’re all playing out of their skin. They’re playing at the top of their game.

You look at Manchester United and you ask me which players you need to get going.

It’s every single one of them. You could look at every one of those players and go, none of them are performing to their capabilities.

None of them are performing 10 out of 10 every week. Probably the best you might get is a 7.5 or an 8 out of 10 once every few weeks, but that ain’t good enough. Amorim will want every single player doing their bit, then as a team, collectively, that makes you even better and stronger. That’s what he’ll be looking for, for the team to be performing as a unit.”

Q: What’s the short-term objective for Amorim? 

Teddy Sheringham: “It will be very, very evident if Amorim’s got things right in the first place. The work ethic is the main thing.

He needs to get that cohesion into the team.  He needs the players all working in unison. To do that, he’s going to have to be a good communicator who can get his points across to his players and help them understand what he demands of them as a manager.

If he’s had that impact, you should see an immediate spark in the team and the way they play.

In terms of new signings, potentially the money’s been spent. Amorim is inheriting what is essentially Ten Hag’s squad, there’s going to be guys in there that he’s not going to want, so it will take time to build the squad that he wants. I would love to see United be ambitious and try to make a couple of exciting signings in January if they have the budget to do it.”

Q: On a lack of transfer funds

Teddy Sheringham: “It’s good in the fact that the United directors backed their man and gave him money to make signings, but it was so evident from the outside that Ten Hag wasn’t up to the job and it was like, ‘What are you doing? Why are you giving this man more money to spend?’ He’s already wasted a lot of money on players.

He’s bought a lot of players that are like, ‘Oh, that’s a few quid. Yeah, I’ll go and play for Man United. That’ll do.’ There’s a big difference between wearing the shirt with pride and just nicking a few quid because someone’s paid out a lot of money for you – we’ve had too many players turning up at United thinking that’s that. I’ve made it. That’s not good enough for the standards of Manchester United.”

Q: If your Ruben Amorim, do you keep Ruud van Nistelrooy on this season as part of your staff or do you send him packing as part of a clear out and to really emphasise to the players that this is a fresh start. 

Teddy Sheringham: “I am very unsurprised that Amorim has decided to let Ruud go.

Amorim will want all his staff and, as a previous manager, I know I didn’t manage for very long, but from experience, he will want his own people around him.

He doesn’t need to be getting to know Ruud. He hasn’t worked with Ruud for the last few years. He doesn’t know him.

He’s got his own striking coach. He’s got his own defensive coach, his own goalkeeping coach. He’s got his character-building coach. He’s got his psychologists, they all speak Portuguese, they’re all in it together.

From experience, if I was going in there, I would have my own people because it’s people that you can trust and you know how they work. Even though Ruud did a fantastic job, he’s got to understand that Amorim wants his own people in there.”

Tottenham

Q: Reaction to Tottenham vs Ipswich

Teddy Sheringham: “That was a terrible result for Tottenham. I had them down in my accumulator to win at home. This is Tottenham for you though, isn’t it? This is the inconsistencies that you get. It’s just tough to keep going from Europe into the league. That’s why you need these big squads.

They’re finding it tough to find that consistency, especially with a lot of top players out. That’s the problem.”

Q: We’ve seen Ange Postecoglou use Dejan Kulusevski in a different role this season, playing as a ten behind the strikers. What have you made of his performances in the position? 

Teddy Sheringham: “I really like him in that position. He comes in and takes Maddison’s spot, although I think you can play both of them at times, especially at home. Maybe he’s looked and thought that you can’t. I like Kulusevski in that 10 position, but I also like Maddison playing alongside him as well. I thought they perform nicely together.”

Q: Kulusevski is keeping James Maddison out of the Tottenham team at the moment. What kind of a reaction are you expecting from Maddison as he’s not a player that is used to sitting on the bench.

Teddy Sheringham: “I think Postecoglou has made a couple of big calls, and I’ll stand by him and what he’s doing. Recently he took Maddison off when the team got back to 1-1 just before half time, and he took him off when the team were playing really well. I was actually at the game. He took Maddison off at half-time and then the team ended up beating West Ham 4-1. Then he did the same thing with Son, his other top player and his captain. He took him off at 1-1 in the same game and the team went on to beat Aston Villa 4-1.

So, it was obviously the right decision at the time. When you take your top players off, it kind of rocks them, when you look to them for leadership to get you back into the game.

They were obviously the right calls at the time for the team to go on to win, but you’ve got to manage those two big egos very well as well, and you need to let them know that it was just a one-off or whatever, because Maddison was playing quite well in that particular game and I was surprised that he took him off in the manner that he did, but obviously the team won.”

Q: Dom Solanke is a few months into his Tottenham career. How do you think he’s got on so far? 

Teddy Sheringham: “Solanke leads the line. It’s not easy to play that centre-forward role, bringing other players into play, holding the ball up and running in behind to score goals. You need to be able to do all of those things and he can do that. I think he’s done really well.

He obviously had a great season last season and he’s been operating in the Premier League now at a very, very good level for a while. He got 19 goals at Bournemouth last season. He’s got four so far this season for Spurs.

He’s been a centre-forward. He knows how to score goals. You can tell that with the goals that he scored. 20 goals will be his target again and if you get off to a good start and on a good run early, then the targets change. If you have a couple of injuries, you’re out of the team, then your targets change the other way.”

Q: What’s the objective for Tottenham this season? 

Teddy Sheringham: “Without a doubt, the objective for Tottenham is to win something this season. They’ve got to win something.

Postecoglou told us that he always wins something in the second season and I’m fully behind him. They’ve got a team that is inconsistent. They’re in for three – the cups – and you can afford to be a bit inconsistent in those because its game-to-game. The cups represent a great opportunity for Tottenham to put some silverware in the trophy cabinet.

You can be inconsistent and still win something. Man United showed that last season with Erik Ten Hag. Hopefully they can win games at the right times because they’ve got the right firepower to win a cup this season.

Ange obviously said that he always wins something in his second season, which if he doesn’t them I’m sure people will ridicule him for saying that. However I think he has been a touch misquoted as what he was saying is that he’s done that at previous clubs and that’s what he hopes to do again. It’s all the outsiders that are ridiculing him. If you listen to what he actually said, he didn’t come out and say I’m going to win a trophy at Tottenham this season.”

Q: On Postecoglou’s playing style

Teddy Sheringham: “Everyone at the club has bought into it completely, without a doubt, and I think Tottenham fans should as well, because they must be more excited in this last season and a half than they have been for the last five years under Mourinho and Conte where you’re watching a team hoping to get a breakaway goal and nick a result against Norwich at home, Southampton at home.

Now Tottenham are creating at least 10, 12 chances in every game they play. You’ve got to be happy with that. He’s getting bums off seats, you’re up, you’re excited. You’re optimistic, you’re gonna get a chance, you’re gonna score.

Alright, sometimes things don’t go your way, and I don’t know what the atmosphere was like against Ipswich, but the vibe in general is great. I go there thinking I’m going to see excitement, chances, goalscoring opportunities, so I’m optimistic.”

West Ham

Q: Were the West Ham fans sold a bit of a dud in terms of Lopetegui? When he joined the club, the statements coming out of West Ham were that he was going to bring attacking and attractive football to the London Stadium, that hasn’t happened. 

Teddy Sheringham: “Question marks are still out for me on Julen Lopetegui. They’ve gone out and got their man, there were already question marks about their man in the first place. You know, he’s been in the Premier League for a short spell of time and didn’t overly impress at Wolves.

Is he the right man? I don’t know. They’ve put all their eggs in one basket. They’ve chased him and given him a lot of money to spend.

Things haven’t changed on a major scale for West Ham fans to go, ‘No, stick with him, he’s our man,’ They’re still not playing great football; they’re playing cautious football with too many defensive midfield players in midfield and not really exciting the crowd. Even though they’ve got a few exciting players in their team, they’ve not been great. So, question marks out, big time.”

Q: Are you confident that Lopetegui’s going to turn this around at West Ham?

Teddy Sheringham: “I’m not as optimistic about him as I am Postecoglou. He’s not getting bums off seats. You haven’t got West Ham fans going to a game excited about what they might see. It’s a vibe of, ‘Geez, what are we going to get today?’”

Nottingham Forest

Q: Forest have been the surprise of the season so far. What has made them such a difficult proposition under Nuno this season? 

Teddy Sheringham: “Well, my wife’s family are from Nottingham, and they were all down this weekend and they’re buzzing about the manager. He’s changed the thought process, the way they go into games, they’re taking the games to the opposition.

They’ve got a manager now that’s been in and around the Premier League, that understands the Premier League on a big scale. He had his down times, but he’s obviously learnt lot and he’s got some exciting players at Nottingham Forest, and they’re playing at the top of their game so he obviously knows how to manage. It’s looking very rosy. They’re in and around the right end of the table, so everything’s very optimistic up in Nottingham.”

Q: Chris Wood is a man in the form of his life. What’s that feeling like as a player bang in form? 

Teddy Sheringham: “Solanke’s finding it tough because they don’t really get balls in the box, even though he scored a couple goals. Hojlund is in a similar boat up at Man United, they don’t really get balls in the box. The wingers aren’t there to supply Hojlund. But when you look at Forest, it seems like they are and everything is built around getting the ball to Wood in areas where he can score.

Hudson-Odoi, he creates chances, whips balls in for centre-forwards, and centre-forwards love that. If the ball’s coming in, you can time your runs, get across defenders, get behind defenders and you’re getting goalscoring opportunities.

You’re being fed opportunities, and goal scorers, if they’re in the rich vein of form, the confidence is rolling and it just carries on. That’s exactly where Chris Wood is and it’s like, ‘Listen lads, keep feeding me. I can score goals. Get the ball in the box and I will deliver.’

He’s having fun. He’s doing his part for the team and they’re feeding him.”