Sherwood: I am treated differently

Tottenham head coach Tim Sherwood believes he is not afforded the same treatment as the likes of Jose Mourinho due to his rookie status.

Sherwood was handed the reins at White Hart Lane in December, replacing previous incumbent Andre Villas-Boas.

The 45-year-old enjoyed a honeymoon period as Tottenham won five and drew one of the first six Premier League matches he took charge of.

However, the club have since lost ground in the race for a UEFA Champions League place, with high-profile defeats to Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool proving damaging.

Sherwood came under fire for openly criticising his side following the 4-0 loss to Chelsea last month, while his decision to view games from the stands in recent matches has also courted derision.

However, Sherwood has moved to defend himself, pointing to Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho slamming his side after a 3-1 Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain last week, and feels he is being targeted due to his inexperience.

“You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” he is quoted as saying by The Daily Mirror. “If Mourinho sits up there (in the stands), he’s fine. Nigel Pearson at Leicester has sat up there all season and they’ve been promoted to the Premier League.

“I didn’t have any hidden agenda regarding (having a go at the players). I just felt they needed to be accountable. If Mourinho does it now, it’s right. If I do it, it’s wrong because I’m inexperienced and Mourinho’s the best manager we’ve ever seen supposedly.

“Whatever decisions you make in this game only stand up if you win. If Mourinho doesn’t go on to win anything at Chelsea then he’s going to be wrong for saying what he said.

“Obviously he gets a little bit more leeway because he has earned the right to say what he wants. People will say ‘Who is Tim Sherwood to start having a go?’

“But I am realistic to know it’s Tottenham, you are under the spotlight no matter what you do. You’ve got a rookie manager coming in here, won the first eight games or whatever it was and everyone thinks it’s easy.

“I didn’t. I was realistic; I knew there was going to be some downs. It was a case of just cracking on. But whatever decisions I make are my decisions. If I’m going to go down, I’ll go down my way.”