Jose Mourinho once longed for an uninterrupted week on the training ground with his Tottenham players but the loss of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son has left him openly longing for July 1.
Mourinho, whose downbeat rhetoric is already dividing the Spurs fanbase, will largely spend this week attempting to mould Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Co. into a passable attack in time for a season-defining run of fixtures until the end of March, including the FA Cup fifth-round at home to Norwich and the Champions League last-16 second leg at RB Leipzig.
Spurs also face meetings with top-four rivals Wolves, Manchester United and Sheffield United in their next five league games, as well as potential banana-skins at Burnley and at home to West Ham.
At Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Mourinho grimly predicted that his striker shortage is likely to get worse before it gets better and Spurs are continuing to sweat on the outcome of the Football Association's investigation into Dele Alli's coronavirus video.
The England midfielder sent his observations to the governing body last week and the FA must decide whether to charge the 23-year-old with discrimination, which could result in a match ban.
Alli was dropped for the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge and ensuring he returns to somewhere near his best will also be a priority for Mourinho this week. Without Kane and Son, Spurs need firepower and Alli is now the only proven Premier League goalscorer left in the Portuguese's squad.
To that end, you wonder how long Mourinho can continue to ignore 18-year-old striker Troy Parrott and blooding the Republic of Ireland international could help turn a bleak situation into a positive story.
