After qualifying for the Champions League last season, and what was viewed as a generally positive summer transfer window, this was meant to be the season Tottenham truly kicked on to the next level.
Instead, another campaign without a trophy is passing by, following recent lacklustre defeats to Sheffield United and AC Milan in the FA Cup and Champions League, respectively. Spurs could also lose their spot among Europe's elite over the remainder of the season, with Newcastle sitting two points behind the north Londoners with two games in hand for the coveted final top-four berth.
Antonio Conte's furious rant following last weekend's 3-3 draw at Southampton only increased tensions at the club, with many expecting the manager to depart his position before club football resumes for its two-month run-in. Now, Daniel Levy looks poised to be on the hunt for his eighth permanent manager since Juande Ramos guided the club to their last piece of silverware - in the form of the 2008 League Cup.
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The Spurs chairman faces a crunch summer if he is to rejuvenate the current mood surrounding the club, with keeping Harry Kane likely to be at the top of his must-do list. With a two-week hiatus allowing everyone to gather their thoughts and generate some calm ahead of the frantic conclusion to the season, here's how pundits predict Spurs will end the campaign.
Antonio Conte sacked
Following his remarkable outburst last Saturday, Antonio Conte's days at Spurs appeared numbered. Despite reports suggesting Daniel Levy would make a change during the first week of the international break, the Italian remains at the helm - for the time being, at least.
However, former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp still believes 53-year-old will struggle to make it to the end of the season, despite Tottenham sitting fourth with 10 games to play. "It feels like his position is becoming untenable - I don't see where he goes from here," he told Sky Sports.
"I felt he was talking his way out of a job after they lost to Nottingham Forest [in the Carabao Cup]. Tottenham have a history of sacking managers, even before cup finals. When you start singling out players that's a sure-fire way to lose a dressing room.
"He's talking mainly about the owners having not when a trophy in 15 years since the current chairman has been in charge. They've had 10 or 11 managers. Great managers, but never won anything.
"He feels that whilst the owners are in charge are they ever going to buy the players you need. I thought Conte might be the one to get the keys to the kingdom to buy the players he needs but I think lots of players have been forced upon him. Normally in his two or three year periods at clubs, he wins. Even he feels like he can't win at Tottenham. That is a sorry state."
Meanwhile Jamie Carragher claimed Conte wants to be sacked and urged Levy to "put him out of his misery".
The former Liverpool defender also identified Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi as the ideal candidate to replace the Italian.
Harry Kane's Spurs farewell
Speculation surrounding Harry Kane's future in north London is only set to ramp up as the season nears its conclusion. Among his potential suitors are Manchester United and Chelsea, and Glenn Hoddle wouldn't be surprised if this is his final season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"Harry has got the best out of his career and is continuing to do so - winning a trophy would just be the icing on the cake," he told Betfair. "We don't know if he'll get a move at 34-years-old [when his contract at Spurs runs out] and win his first trophy, that remains to be seen.
"I'd love to see him win one at Tottenham but if he had to move then nobody would begrudge him. He's been patient with Tottenham and he's at a crossroads. He either signs another long-term deal in the hope things change at Spurs, or he has to sit down and tell them he wants to leave. Things need to be worked out because he does deserve to win a trophy.
"It wouldn't surprise me if he thought he had to move and if the opportunity to do so is there, which it will be, then it also wouldn't surprise me to see him leave."
Both Louis Saha and Rio Ferdinand think Kane is best placed to make the move to Manchester United this summer. "Harry Kane fits in at Manchester United perfectly – I’d love to see him in a United shirt," Saha told Paddy Power.
"With the speed that United have on the wings, and the quality that Kane has on the ball, it’s an obvious one that it would be a good fit. There are clubs in Europe or even in the Premier League that could work, but not as good as Manchester United."
Ferdinand added to Five: "Man United are going for Harry Kane. Harry Kane isn’t going to Chelsea from Spurs, no chance. If you play football as a young kid, what is your goal? To win trophies. He is at Spurs, who want to win trophies. They can’t, they don’t. Since the Champions League final, they have gone backwards in terms of the way they are playing and closeness to winning things.
"They are nowhere near it. But you have to ask him the question, that is the questioning we need answering from him. Tell us man, 'I want to be a one club man, I want to have the statue outside, I’m Mr Spurs'.
"We will all say, well played, that’s fine. But there is a chance to come here now, to Man United. I would love him to, but the problem you have got is Levy, what price is he going to ask for."
Tottenham's top four verdict
Speaking previously on Sky's Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville disagreed over whether Spurs would be playing in next season's Champions League. While Neville backed Antonio Conte's side to reach the top four, Carragher instead favoured Newcastle.
The former Liverpool defender argued: "The energy they play with when I watch them play, now of course Tottenham could get there, someone else could get there, but I just feel like the home games and the atmosphere will get them there.
"It feels like there's a togetherness and something between them and the crowd that you just don't see at Tottenham."
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