Tottenham will appoint John Heitinga as an interim replacement for Thomas Frank, before moving for Mauricio Pochettino in the summer.

That is the view of Tim Sherwood, who would be open to returning to his former club on a temporary basis.

Frank, who joined Spurs from Brentford last year, was sacked on Wednesday after a defeat to Newcastle United left Tottenham in 16th place in the Premier League.

The Dane leaves having recorded the worst win rate in the club's Premier League history (26.9%).

Spurs are five points above the bottom three, though they are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Asked who he feels will take charge, Sherwood told Sky Sports: "I genuinely believe they are going to give it to John Heitinga.

"I think he's a man there already and has experience as a manager."

Heitinga was sacked by Ajax earlier this season and only joined Frank's coaching staff last month.

Sherwood, however, feels Spurs' options will be limited in the short term, and when asked if he would be interested in making a return to the club he managed for just six months during the 2013-14 season, he said: "It's a great opportunity for someone who's not in a job.

"It's a club that I love. I know a lot about it, I spent many years there in different capacities. It needs someone to give them a lift. Whether that's me, or whoever they decide to bring in – they've got a tough job on their hands.

"Let's face it, in the summer, it's going to be Pochettino.

"It'll be almost impossible for Tottenham to look beyond Pochettino with the clamour from the support to bring him back to the club.

"Whoever goes in there is just doing it for 12 games plus the Champions League run. There's no future at the club for that person, so there’ll be very few to put their hands up and themselves on offer for 12 games."

Sherwood, who won 13 of his 22 league games in charge of Spurs (59.1%), feels Pochettino is the obvious appointment ahead of next season.

The Argentine, who was sacked by Spurs in 2019 but remains a firm fan favourite, is currently the United States head coach.

"I don't think there’s a better job out there for Pochettino," Sherwood said.

"He knows the environment, he'd have to get used to the new structure. He'd have the backing of the fans from the outset, but there'd be pressure on him.

"He's got no choice now, he wants to come back to the Premier League. He's not going to get a better job than Tottenham and the fans overwhelmingly want to welcome the guy back. It's almost impossible for them.

"[Andoni] Iraola would be my choice – he's a very good manager, very astute, but it would be almost impossible for Tottenham to give him the job because of the pressure he would be under to be successful; everyone would be saying they should have given it to Mauricio. I don’t think they can look beyond Pochettino.

"So the interim man is in there for a short period, they'd have to weigh up whether it's worth their while."