Former Tottenham boss David Pleat has welcomed the appointment of new manager Tim Sherwood.

Sherwood has been named new manager to the end of next season.

Pleat told BBC Sport: "He is ambitious and a leader. I look back to when he was at Blackburn with Alan Shearer, David Batty, Chris Sutton and Graeme Le Saux - some big players - but he was the leader and spoke for the team.

"He is a hard-working guy. He has developed and helped develop some good players that have emerged this season."

Pleat continued: "Every manager is a risk. There are no messiahs out there. Everyone thinks they can do it, but I think Tim will do OK. He will get respect, he understands the game and importantly can communicate.

"He will be steady and will not get carried away. It's a very big club and I believe he has certain qualities that will stand him in good stead.

"The club had to retain some stability. After sacking Andre Villas-Boas, they had to get something in place quickly. If they had brought a new man in, it would have taken him a few weeks to get things sorted."