Tim Sherwood says he would not have taken the Spurs job if he had known it would only be for five months and insists he would have taken the club forward given 18 months.

The 45-year-old was - as expected - relieved of his duties last week as chairman Daniel Levy exercised the break clause in Sherwood's contract at White Hart Lane.

Sherwood succeeded Andre Villas-Boas last December, signing a deal as head coach until the end of the 2014/15 season, but was ultimately only able to see out five months of the agreement.

" I wouldn't do it if I knew it was a five-month job," Sherwood told Sky Sports. "I was happy where I was, I love the development phase of football, which I think is very poor in England because there's not enough kids getting opportunities.

"But the club was in a difficult position and it is a club close to our hearts. We always knew if you go into the firing line as a manager your head is going to be on the block and it might be a short tenure."

Promoted from his role as head of football development at Tottenham, Sherwood only oversaw 28 first-team matches, but still boasted the best win percentage (59 per cent) of any Spurs manager in the Premier League era.

The former Tottenham midfielder also guided the club to sixth place in the top-flight, securing Europa League football again next season.

He continued: "In the end it proved that but I didn't anticipate it would be as short as it actually was. If I had 18 months there I would definitely have taken that club forward."