Tottenham chief Daniel Levy is taking huge risk with Jose Mourinho sack stance

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Tottenham chief Daniel Levy will reportedly give Jose Mourinho time to turn things around. The Spurs boss is under pressure in the wake of his side’s defeat to Chelsea on Thursday night, with the club now sinking down the Premier League table. But sticking, rather than twisting, certainly represents a substantial risk.

At the start of the season, Tottenham were brilliant.

With Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min both shining, they emerged as early contenders to win the Premier League title – particularly after significant victories over Manchester United and Manchester City.

But, in recent times, Tottenham have found life tough.

Mourinho has been unable to spark a turnaround so far, with the club only winning one Premier League match – against Sheffield United – since the turn of the year.

Thursday’s defeat to Chelsea was a chastening experience.

Spurs were devoid of spark and creativity as Jorginho’s penalty gave Thomas Tuchel’s side all three points.

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Chelsea had more of the ball – 58 per cent compared to Tottenham’s 42 per cent – and managed 16 shots on goal while the home side could only muster seven in response.

With Spurs sinking, some fans want Mourinho gone.

The manager himself has come in for criticism with his negative tactics, while his treatment of the likes of Dele Alli and Gareth Bale has also been questioned.

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But The Athletic say Levy has no appetite to sack Mourinho at the current moment in time, not while the north London side remain in contention for three trophies.

However, given the situation and Mourinho’s history, that certainly represents a substantial risk.

History tells us that when things get like this under the Portuguese, the axe usually finds itself falling with ruthless speed.

At Real Madrid, Mourinho won silverware galore – ending Barcelona’s dominance of La Liga under Pep Guardiola.

But when they slumped, Florentino Perez pulled the trigger.

It was a similar story at Chelsea. Mourinho guided them to Premier League title glory in 2015, dethroning Manchester City to become the country’s major force.

But the 58-year-old paid the price for an abject start to the campaign mere months later, losing his job in December of that year.

Mourinho was unable to get a turnaround in form. He tried everything to save his job at Stamford Bridge but, in the end, Roman Abramovich took action.

Manchester United don’t like sacking managers.

But when they found themselves languishing way behind the Premier League top four in 2018, Ed Woodward gave Mourinho his P45.

While Mourinho has a brilliant CV, he’s found no way of ending slumps throughout his career.

Usually, he wins a trophy. Then things go south and he finds himself out of a job shortly afterwards.

Tottenham are hoping that he at least does the former. Mourinho has steered them to the Carabao Cup final, with a match against Guardiola’s City lying in wait.

But by the time that fixture comes around in April, Spurs’ season could be all but over on the domestic front.

Tottenham don’t want to pull the trigger on Mourinho because, when Levy brought him in as Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement in October 2019, he backed him to win trophies.

Yet with each passing match, that’s looking unlikelier to happen.

And whether Mourinho can defy history to save Tottenham’s season remains to be seen, with calls for the sack growing increasingly louder.

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