October 31, (THEWILL) – Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy and managing director Fabio Paratici are said to be in negotiations over Nuno Espirito Santo’s likely firing. The Portuguese manager came under increased criticism after Saturday’s 3-0 home loss to Manchester United.
Following back-to-back league defeats, Tottenham has dropped to eighth place in the Premier League rankings, ten points behind leaders Chelsea at the summit of the English Premier League standings.
Nuno led Tottenham to their best start to an EPL season, winning three of their first three games and earning Manager of the Month honours. However, Spurs were unable to keep up the pace.
A 1-0 away loss to Portuguese top-flight team Pacos Ferreira in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League play-off washed away the promise of a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at the start of the season.
Spurs lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace and Chelsea after the September international break, before losing 3-1 to Arsenal, which was revolting for many fans given the intensity of the North London Derby rivalry, putting Nuno under even more pressure.
Tottenham beat Aston Villa and Newcastle in the league, but then lost 1-0 at Vitesse of the Netherlands. It was a result that left them in third place in their Europa Conference League group. Nuno has won eight, drawn two, and lost seven of his 17 games as coach.
Following Jose Mourinho’s dismissal in April, the Portuguese manager was appointed manager on June 30, but he was not a candidate for the gig when he left Wolves at the end of last season’s Premier League season and he was by far from the club’s options.
Instead, Spurs held talks with Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Hansi Flick, Paulo Fonseca, and Gennaro Gattuso to offer them the vacant position in the club’s dugout. Only when all other alternatives had been exhausted did the club settle on a two-year contract with the former Wolves manager.
Nuno has been in a difficult situation since his appointment in the summer, following a 10-week search for Mourinho’s replacement. So far, he is failing to make an impression in the job, with mixed results and a club that still struggles to create opportunities.
His techniques and his decision to send a second team to Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League earlier this month have not been well received by the players nor have they won him the approval of large portions of the fan base.
The club is hoping for an improvement in performance and results in order to qualify for European competition next season. However, the complete lack of structure in big games, like the 3-1 loss to Arsenal, is alarming and make him appear out of his depth.
While Arsenal were patient with their manager, especially after losing the first three matches of the season, there may not be enough rope for Nuno to hang on to should Levy and Patricio conclude that it is best for the club to chart a new course with a new boss in charge.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
