Antonio Conte is no longer the Tottenham head coach. His furious four-minute rant after Spurs let slip a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with bottom club Southampton last weekend was the final straw for chairman Daniel Levy.
Spurs remain in the hunt for a Champions League place this season, but Conte declared the players to be "selfish" after the game at St Mary's, saying all 11 players were playing for themselves, not for the team. He also said it was "Tottenham's story" that things like that happened. "Tottenham’s story is this, 20 years there is the owner and they never won something but why?" he said.
With Spurs going into the international break with that result, and Conte heading home to Italy to spend time with his family, as he often did on such occasions, a decision needed to be made.
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And at 10.20pm on Sunday that decision was that Spurs and Conte would part ways by mutual agreement. Levy had had enough. Conte had had enough and enough was enough.
Cristian Stellini will take charge until the end of the season - something of a surprise decision given his connection with Conte. He will be helped by Ryan Mason, who took over when Jose Mourinho was sacked.
Conte's outburst was clearly the tipping point for the Spurs hierarchy, with Levy's 25-word message to the Italian a clear indication that bridges had been burnt.
After announcing Conte's departure, Levy referenced Conte in just 25 words thereafter. He said: "We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the club. We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future."
Levy went on to say that everyone needed to "pull together" and "step up to ensure the highest possible finish" in the final weeks of the season.
That statement was in stark contrast to the words used when Mourinho departed the club in 2021. He said then: "Jose is a true professional and showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both envisaged. He will always be welcome here."
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