Tottenham players expect Antonio Conte to be sacked

Tottenham players on Tuesday morning began filtering back to training, still in the dark over head coach Antonio Conte's future but with the growing expectation that the Italian will leave the club this week.

Senior Spurs players do not expect Conte to still be in charge for their next game, against Everton at Goodison Park on April 3.

Conte will not back down after his stinging criticism of the squad at Southampton on Saturday, and it is seen as only a matter of time before his departure is confirmed, although the club was this morning remaining tight-lipped on reports that he would be sacked by the end of the week.

The head coach has returned to Italy, which is not unusual for the start of an international break, while Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was on Tuesday still considering his next move.

Most of the squad are on international duty and are not due to return to the club until next week, which has given the chairman some breathing space to thrash out the terms of Conte's exit and decide on short- and long-term succession plans.

Captain Hugo Lloris, Lucas Moura and Ryan Sessegnon were among a group of players not on international duty who were due at Hotspur Way for training or recovery sessions today, after the squad was given two days off after the 3-3 draw at St Mary's.

First-team coach Ryan Mason, who took charge of six games at the end of the 2020-21 season, is seen as a leading candidate to take over as caretaker manager until the end of the season.

The club may find it easier to convince out-of-work managers such as Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel or Luis Enrique to take over at the start of pre-season.

Conte was asked by the club for an explanation of his comments at St Mary's and insisted that his criticism was directed at the squad and not Levy.

Spurs are still fourth in the Premier League, despite their inconsistent form, and Levy has been deliberating over what is best for their chances of qualifying for the Champions League again.

They are two points above fifth-placed Newcastle and seven points above Liverpool and Brighton, although their top-four rivals all have games in hand on them.

Clement Lenglet and Arnaut Danjuma were also due to train today, while Richarlison and Ben Davies are also due back at Spurs this week to have their injuries assessed after withdrawing from duty with Brazil and Wales, respectively, after suffering injuries on Saturday.