Soccer-Argentine Pochettino named Tottenham manager

LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - Argentine Mauricio Pochettino was appointed Tottenham Hotspur head coach on a five-year contract on Tuesday after leaving Premier League rivals Southampton where he has been in charge since January last year. The London club announced in a statement that Pochettino, 42, a former international defender, is taking over from Tim Sherwood who was sacked by Spurs at the end of last season only five months after replacing Andre Villas-Boas. "This is a club with tremendous history and prestige and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be its head coach," Pochettino said on the club's website (www.tottenhamhotspur.com). "There is an abundance of top-class talent at the club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad." He becomes Tottenham's 10th manager under chairman Daniel Levy since 2001 and reportedly landed the job ahead of Ajax Amsterdam manager Frank de Boer. Spurs finished sixth last season and qualified for the Europa League while Southampton were eighth, an improvement of six places after Pochettino took them to 14th spot in 2013. (Reporting by Mike Collett; Editing by Ken Ferris)