FIVE-POINT PLAN

1 RESOLVE TANGUY NDOMBELE’S FUTURE

It can’t go on like this. The 23- year- old Ndombele is fabulously gifted, but wears that ability lightly. Nothing seen yet suggests he’s determined to make his time in England a success. His issues are attributable to several factors, but the Frenchman has quickly become a polarising figure and his situation needs a speedy resolution one way or another, because Spurs can’t accommodate a € 60m white elephant.

2 BUILD A PROPER MIDFIELD BASE

The shape of that department has been all wrong since Mousa Dembele’s long goodbye. Mourinho’s squad is endowed with plenty of talent, but not in the right combination and not in a way that provides adequate protection for the defence. Unless a screening type can be found so that the team can start attacking with any sort of confidence, fans are likely to see more of the negative football which proved so antagonistic in 2019- 20.

3 FIND A RIGHT- BACK

In the words of Joni Mitchell, you don’t know what you’ve got ’ til it’s gone. The days of Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier are over and, whatever his attacking merits, Serge Aurier remains far too impulsive without the ball. He needs a stabler positional rival.

4 APPOINT A SPORTING DIRECTOR, SHARPISH

The strategic errors made in the final 18 months of Pochettino’s reign should’ve been enough for Levy to recuse himself of all sporting decisions. Now, with the world economy in flux and the club enjoying Champions League revenue no longer, it’s vital that Spurs are precise in their thinking.

5 SETTLE ON AN ON- PITCH STRATEGY

It’s woolly, but relevant. Supporters put up with last season’s football as a means to an end, mitigating it with the virus- enforced disruption and Mourinho having inherited a team he wasn’t equipped to manage. Now, that has to change. This side needn’t be instantly successful, but to unify a divided fanbase it must show what it intends to become.