How Mauricio Pochettino’s relationship with Spurs board deteriorated amid shocking set of results
IT took Mauricio Pochettino five years to reach the peak and just six months to come crashing down.
Tottenham have sacked arguably their best ever manager, even if their 2-0 Champions League final loss to Liverpool in May was a gloomy glimpse of the slump to follow.
This season's mediocrity on the pitch and murmurings off it snowballed this month, leading to Tuesday night's shock sacking at the end of the international break.
Pochettino himself had heightened the speculation and discontent with an uneasy mix of weary words, frustration and optimism after the last few matches.
Relegation form of 25 points in the last 24 games, combined with a Carabao Cup humbling by League Two Colchester and a 7-2 home loss to Bayern Munich, are stark stats.
And it is also thought the pressure on Poch became stronger after Jose Mourinho's team made it clear the ex-Chelsea and Manchester United chief would welcome the Spurs job.
George Baldock's freak equaliser deservedly earned Sheffield United a 1-1 draw at Spurs.
And it left Poch desperately looking to the longer term like so many struggling managers do when they suspect time could be running out.
As if struggling to give himself a vote of confidence, the ex-Southampton chief insisted a top-four finish was still achievable.
He said: “If we are capable of finding the right balance to start performing in the way we expect, of course it’s still possible.
“We need time to get everything right because we went back to five years ago where we were in terms of position, situations and stuff like that, so it takes time.
“But we cannot move the club forward quick, to accelerate things, we can’t.
"We need to stay calm and work hard because there is not another way to change this dynamic."
But now we know Levy disagreed. He believes there IS another way to change.
But axing Pochettino, arguably the best manager in Spurs' history, might just be the biggest gamble he ever takes, particularly after replacing him with Mourinho.