Igor Tudor looks more and more like a man on borrowed time, with one report claiming that Tottenham are seriously considering an ex-Watford boss to replace the Croatian.
Tottenham ramp up manager search as Tudor faces exit
Tottenham's search for a Tudor replacement has become one of the most chaotic and revealing stories in the Premier League recently.
A week into the international break, the club still does not have a new manager confirmed, Tudor has not yet been officially released, and the list of names that have either been approached, discussed, rejected or simply dismissed grows longer with every passing day.
Adi Hutter remains somewhere in the picture, with esteemed French newspaper L'Équipe reporting that the 56-year-old Austrian has been contacted and discussions have begun.
Sky Sport Germany's insistence that no concrete talks have taken place has muddied the water considerably, and the mood around a potential Hutter appointment has shifted from one of cautious optimism to quiet uncertainty.
His lack of Premier League experience has done nothing to help his case with a squad that needs an immediate lift, not another continental experiment like Tudor.
Roberto De Zerbi, the man the club genuinely want, keeps saying no to any prospect of an immediate role.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed the Italian remains the favourite for the summer role if Spurs survive, but his alleged 'not now' response to this week's fresh approach has made it clear he will not be rushed.
Mauricio Pochettino is contractually committed to the United States until the World Cup ends in July.
Marco Silva, discussed internally, remains at Fulham until at least the end of the season.
Ryan Mason, Chris Hughton and Tim Sherwood have all been floated as options, while Gus Poyet applied publicly on talkSPORT and was largely ignored.
Harry Redknapp put his hand up as well recently, nine years out of management, and was met with similar silence.
Robbie Keane, briefly discussed as a possibility, made it clear he has no interest in an interim appointment as Celtic and Crystal Palace also eye a move for the Irishman.
And so ENIC, growing more desperate by the day, have arrived at a name that is pragmatic, available and unmistakably unglamorous — Sean Dyche.
Sean Dyche ready to join Tottenham now as Spurs 'seriously consider' move
TEAMtalk and journalist Graeme Bailey report that Dyche is ready to take the Tottenham job right now.
The 52-year-old, currently without a club following his spell at Nottingham Forest, is understood to be genuinely open to the challenge of keeping Spurs in the Premier League and sources indicate ENIC are now 'seriously considering' him.
The thinking inside the club is straightforward: with seven games left and a single point separating them from the relegation zone, they need someone who has been in survival fights before and come out the other side.
Dyche has done exactly that — most memorably at Burnley, where he kept a limited squad in the top flight through sheer defensive organisation and collective determination, and at Everton, where he steadied a ship that looked almost certain to go under.
The Englishman also had a stint at Watford before his more noteworthy chapters.
He is not the appointment Tottenham fans dreamed of.
He is not De Zerbi's pressing philosophy or Pochettino's emotional connection to the club. He is a back-to-basics manager who organises defences, demands effort and wins ugly when ugly is what is needed.
Right now, ugly might be exactly what Spurs need.