If, as appears to be increasingly expected among his players, Antonio Conte's time at Tottenham comes to an end sooner rather than later, the Italian's era at the club will be viewed in different ways by those around him.
A handful of Spurs first team players returned to Hotspur Way on Tuesday - just four fit outfield ones - while Conte normally returns later in the first week of an international break after a spell back in Italy with his family. Tottenham remain silent over reports that he may not return at all and if he does whether it is to discuss his fate directly with chairman Daniel Levy. The mood at the sprawling training complex at Enfield is certainly one of a club that feels yet another change is coming.
It says everything about the environment that Conte was thrust into, and seemingly will be thrust out of, that his departure will mean Spurs have not had a manager last a full season at the club since the 2018/19 campaign. The stability of the Mauricio Pochettino era has given way to three permanent managers and one caretaker one within four years as Levy has lurched from decision to decision, trying and failing to push pieces into a jigsaw that simply won't go.
