Tottenham sack manager Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas has been sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager following the 5-0 defeat against Liverpool at White Hart Lane.

A statement said: 'The Club can announce that agreement has been reached with Head Coach, Andre Villas-Boas, for the termination of his services.

'The decision was by mutual consent and in the interests of all parties.

'We wish Andre well for the future. We shall make a further announcement in due course.'

Yesterday's defeat was the club's worst at White Hart Lane in 16 years and left Spurs seventh in the Premier League - eight points behind leaders Arsenal.

Villas-Boas, 36, took over at Tottenham in July 2012. The Portuguese had come under increasing pressure in recent weeks as his side struggled to keep pace with the top four in the league.

His side lost 6-0 to Manchester City on 24 November and, despite a draw against Manchester United and wins at Fulham and Sunderland, the defeat by Liverpool proved the final straw for the Spurs hierarchy.

Villas-Boas said he would not "resign" as he was not a "quitter" after the loss to the Reds but, after being summoned to a meeting with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Sunday, his future was taken out of his hands.

The early names being linked with replacing the Portuguese include current Russia boss and former England manager Fabio Capello, ex-Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo, Swansea boss Michael Laudrup and Tottenham's current technical director Franco Baldini.