Daniel Levy was demanding Jose Mourinho achieve a top four finish for Tottenham just a month into his tenure in north London.
A football.london report last week detailed the ambitious target set by the Tottenham chairman, who appointed Mourinho a day after sacking Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019.
Spurs were down in 12th place at the time of Mourinho's appointment, but after wins in four of his first five Premier League matches in charge, the Portuguese was told by Levy at the Tottenham Christmas party that it was his job to get the side into the top four and win a trophy.
Levy is said to have felt that Spurs had gone stale under Pochettino after the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in June 2019, and was hoping that Mourinho could inject some energy into the club.
League results ultimately dropped off after Mourinho's initial impact though, and Spurs finished sixth as they qualified for the Europa League.
This season Mourinho's side did top the table for a brief period, but they fell away badly after the turn of the year.
They now sit five points off fourth spot and have exited Europe, although ironically they will play in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City this Sunday.
Mourinho was spotted at his London home yesterday shortly after the sacking, and he shared social media posts wishing him well from 10 Tottenham players on his Instagram Story.
The first two of those players were Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, and the forwards are said to have been left 'upset' with the manner of Mourinho's departure.
The Telegraph report that Kane and Son - whose strike partnership blossomed under Mourinho - are said to have been disheartened by the manner of the sacking, and at the fact that they found out it was happening via media channels.
It has also been suggested that the squad have questioned the timing of the move ahead of Sunday's Carabao Cup final.
.jpg?w=600)
