Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is facing a dilemma over the future of manager Mauricio Pochettino, with doubts among some players over how much longer he will be in charge.
Pochettino’s future is increasingly uncertain after a run of poor results which has left Levy with a tough decision about how much time to give him to rebuild the team.
Tottenham would have to pay around £12.5million to sack Pochettino and the club would be reluctant to fork out the substantial pay-off the Argentine would be owed.
Pochettino remains highly rated inside the club after guiding Spurs to four successive top-four finishes and leading them to the Champions League Final last season. Despite the difficulties on the pitch and friction over transfer policy, Levy and Pochettino maintain a good personal relationship and meet regularly.
Tottenham know it will be difficult to appoint a new manager during the season and there is no obvious replacement within the club.
Levy, however, will be worried about the impact of missing out on Champions League qualification and the atmosphere at the training ground growing more toxic.
Spurs are 14th in the Premier League, 11 points adrift of fourth place, and have managed just one win in seven League matches.
Defeat by bitter rivals West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday would place Pochettino under even greater pressure.
* Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham later on Tuesday evening.
