Tottenham Hotspur chiefs may soon have a decision to make on the future of Roberto De Zerbi, should there be no sign of improvement in their upcoming fixtures after the international break.
The Tottenham hierarchy and the supporters had high expectations after a summer overhaul of a squad that had registered successive 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, with 10 new players arriving at a cost of more than £300m.
Spurs broke their transfer record twice and given every player they brought in has played in the Premier League, there was hope that they would get up to speed in a white shirt pretty quickly.
It simply hasn't been the case though, and Saturday's 3-2 defeat at home to Aston Villa leaves them with two points from their opening five top flight fixtures this term, and situated bottom of the table.
Having also been knocked out of the EFL Cup by Liverpool, it's fair to say it has been a bad start to the campaign for Tottenham and De Zerbi.
The Italian manager now has some time to work with the non-internationals staying behind at Hotspur Way over the three-week break, to try and kickstart Spurs' season, starting at Manchester United on October 10.
The match is already being labelled by some as 'El Sackico', with De Zerbi's opposite number Michael Carrick also under pressure. United have won two and lost three of their seven matches in all competitions to date.
Following the trip to Old Trafford, Spurs host Coventry City and Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the end of October, with those games sandwiched by a local derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Should things go badly, Tottenham may already have one option they could turn to in former Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna.
The 40-year-old made the shock decision to leave the Tractor Boys after leading them to promotion back to the Premier League and, according to Football FanCast, he is now open to jobs at Spurs and Man United after his short break from football.
McKenna is Another Pochettino in the Making
Pochettino is still worshipped by Tottenham fans for what he achieved at the club.
He brought the whole club together and produced a feel-good factor that had been missing.
He gave them a style of football that was enjoyable to watch and he got the best out of some of the best players Spurs fans have seen in recent years, including Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.
Most impressively, he got the club to the 2019 Champions League final, which is a far cry from where they have found themselves in the last couple of seasons, instead battling against relegation to the Championship.
Pochettino has legendary status at Tottenham even if he couldn't get that trophy win over the line, and it is the same for McKenna at Ipswich.
The now 40-year-old, who Ipswich believed was 'world-class', took the Tractor Boys over in December 2021 when they were mid-table in League One, and 18 months later he celebrated leading the club back to the Championship.
McKenna and Ipswich weren't finished there though, and a stunning 2023-24 campaign saw them finish above the likes of Leeds United and Southampton to secure back-to-back promotions.
He was unable to keep the club in the Premier League, but he did secure an immediate return to the top flight, before announcing his exit earlier this summer.
Like Pochettino at Tottenham, McKenna was in charge of Ipswich for five years, and he made a lasting impression on supporters.
The London-born coach, who was raised in Northern Ireland, likes to play an expansive style of football, and it is no surprise given the BBC claim Pochettino is one of his biggest influences, when he was managing the seniors and McKenna was leading the juniors at the north London club.
He even said: “The Mauricio period was a very good period for the club and certainly one that had an impact on me.
As a coach, having good access to how he worked was inspirational at the time.
Pochettino is known for having a great fondness for Tottenham, and he has openly admitted that he would have been up for managing the club in the Championship if they had ended up there.
Having spent many years at Spurs as a player and coach, McKenna also says that Spurs has a special place in his heart, which means it is no surprise that he would ready to take the job if De Zerbi leaves.
“I moved over there when I’d just turned 16 years old. I've lived in England ever since and spent a large chunk of that time at Tottenham Hotspur, both as a player and as a coach.
It's definitely had a massive bearing on me as a person. It's a great club and one that I've got a fondness for.
“So, in every different aspect, some of the people that I'm still friends with today, the area and the football club was a big part of my life.”
There are many parallels between McKenna and Pochettino, and he has everything to follow in the Argentine's footsteps at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.