LONDON — Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood received a much-needed boost as Harry Kane's first Premier League goal inspired a 5-1 rout of struggling Sunderland Monday. Sherwood had declined to comment on his future in the hours before kick-off at White Hart Lane after a report claimed he would be dismissed at the end of the season. The former Tottenham midfielder was only appointed to replace the sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December, but his position has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks following a disappointing run of results. Holland coach Louis van Gaal, Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax boss Frank de Boer have all been strongly linked with the Tottenham job. Even this convincing win is unlikely to save Sherwood, but he looks set to go out fighting and fittingly it was a goal from England Under-21 striker Kane that set the tone. Lee Cattermole had given bottom of the table Sunderland a shock early lead. But Emmanuel Adebayor equalized and Kane, one of the promising prodigies Sherwood championed during his time as the club's director of youth development, marked his first top-flight start by putting the host ahead after the break before late goals from Christian Eriksen, Adebayor and Gylfi Sigurdsson sealed the demolition. Tottenham climb back up to sixth place with the victory, while Sunderland lies seven points from safety and even its two games in hand may not be enough to save it. “I can't talk about anything about my employment, you will have to ask my employers about that,” Sherwood told Sky Sports after the final whistle. “I don't know if the talk does anyone any favors but we've just got to get on with it. All I was focused on was to win this game. “I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. It's been a great opportunity to manage this club and my record in the Premier League is second to none compared to all the other managers who have been here.” Sunderland boss Gus Poyet said the thrashing has left his team in need of a miracle to avoid relegation from the Premier League. “I am realistic,” the Uruguayan, who replaced Paolo Di Canio in October with the side having taken one point from its first seven matches, told reporters following the White Hart Lane defeat. “When you look at the table and you look at the games that we have left and how many we need to win - I think we need a miracle, something unique, a shock. “And if not, I cannot see it happening.” Poyet said it would already have been relegated if not for the cup form. “As soon as we lost that run the team went backwards — dramatically,” he said. “I think the desire is there but we are missing a few things that are very important in football, the quality in certain moments be it scoring a goal or defending. We haven't taken risks. “There are plenty of things we could improve. Sometimes the table doesn't lie. I am realistic if we did not win a game in the last seven and now we need to win four from seven. “I know where I am. If you look at the table and the games we have got left to win. I cannot see it coming.” — Agencies
