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Wright: AVB destined to fail at Spurs

Ian Wright believes Andre Villas-Boas is not ready to manage Tottenham © PA Photos

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Ian Wright has welcomed the news that Alan Pardew has signed a new contract at Newcastle and believes young managers are taking big jobs too early in their coaching careers.

Pardew, who was named Manager of the Year last season, was linked with both England and Spurs, but has instead put pen to paper on an eight-year contract that will keep him on Tyneside until 2020.

Arsenal legend Wright believes Pardew's long-term commitment to Newcastle is a perfect marriage for a Londoner who has won himself a place in the hearts of all Geordies, as he believes the rush to appoint young managers into the top positions in the game is a modern trend that is doomed to failure.

"There has been talk of Alan being pushed towards the Tottenham or even the England job earlier this year, but I think Newcastle is a much better place for him to be," Wright told ESPN. There is not so much pressure up there as there would be at a club where they are expecting to win stuff and he was quick to distance himself from links with the England job when they came up.

"Anyway, what is the rush for people in the modern game to be appointed to big positions? The way I see it, some managers are being thrown into big jobs long before they are ready for them.

"I look at Andre Villas-Boas as a guy who is being promoted a little too quickly. He didn't shower himself in glory at Chelsea at all and then he somehow gets the job at Tottenham. Now you look at the things he is doing there; Michael Dawson is captain one minute, then next he wants him out. There were mixed messages over Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe at the start of the season as well.

"Okay, he won the Europa League at FC Porto and did well in the Portuguese league, but that should never have been enough to give him the Chelsea job, so I was not surprised when it all blew up."

Wright insists he is not surprised by Pardew's success in coaching, as he saw his potential to become one of the finest touchline operators when he was a vocal member of the Crystal Palace team that came so close to winning the FA Cup in 1990.

"Pards was never the most blessed footballer technically, he was always a guy who had opinions and thoughts on how the game should be played, so it doesn't surprise me to see him doing so well," Wright said. "There are not many better managers in the Premier League right now than Pards in my opinion."

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