Mauricio Pochettino is privately 'gutted' after Tottenham Hotspur snubbed him to appoint Roberto De Zerbi now instead, according to GIVEMESPORT sources.
Tottenham decided to go all out to hire De Zerbi as their new permanent head coach in the last week, despite the Italian making it clear previously that he had no intention of taking on a job until the summer.
However, Spurs decided that because their situation was so precarious in the Premier League, they needed to take drastic action and get their man now, rather than hire another interim boss like Igor Tudor after that experiment failed miserably.
De Zerbi has been tasked with steering Spurs away from the drop zone, which they could find themselves in by the time they kick off the Italian's first match in charge against Sunderland a week on Sunday, should West Ham United beat Wolves next Friday.
A disastrous campaign has left the north Londoners one point above the bottom three with just seven matches left to play, with their situation worsened by the 3-0 defeat to fellow relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, which ended Tudor's 44-day reign.
Pochettino 'Gutted' as Tottenham Appoint De Zerbi
As GIVEMESPORT sources revealed following the departure of Thomas Frank in February, De Zerbi and Pochettino were the two main managerial candidates for the summer.
Had Tottenham's search reached that stage, it would likely have been a two-horse race between the duo for the job in north London.
However, GMS understands that De Zerbi had actually overtaken Pochettino as Spurs' preferred target, given they also tried to bring him in before Frank, after Frank went, and again before he agreed to a U-turn to join now.
The main issue with Pochettino throughout was that, even though he is admired by club chiefs and the fanbase, who made it clear they would welcome him back by chanting his name during the reigns of Frank and Tudor, he is managing the USA at this summer's World Cup.
With a focus on that, the Argentine was unlikely to be available to join Spurs until later in the summer, which Tottenham clearly can't afford given the situation they find themselves in now, and in the last two seasons when it comes to their Premier League standing.
Pochettino Has Plenty to Ponder Ahead of World Cup
Pochettino will need to quickly respond to the fact that he won't be returning to Tottenham this summer, and focus all of his energy on taking the USA as far as he can in their home World Cup.
Hopes would have been high following the two November friendlies, when the host nation beat Paraguay and then thrashed Uruguay 5-1.
However, Pochettino and his men were brought back down to Earth with successive home defeats against two European countries.
A 5-2 defeat by Belgium was followed up by a 2-0 reverse against Roberto Martinez's Portugal, with the USA knowing they need to improve if they want to beat some of the top European nations at the World Cup.