Tottenham sack Jose Mourinho just hours after being savaged for joining European Super League during dire Premier League season

Spurs have sacked Jose Mourinho following a disastrous run that has left their season in tatters, bringing the temperamental boss's rancorous reign to an end by becoming the third Premier League club to dismiss him since 2015.

Former Champions League winner Mourinho's dismissal comes towards the end of a forgettable campaign for struggling Tottenham, who are languishing in seventh in the table after a dreadful run of form since briefly going top earlier in the season.

With little realistic prospect of qualifying for next season's Champions League by finishing fourth, Spurs – who crashed out of the Europa League courtesy of a dismal 3-0 defeat after extra time at Dinamo Zagreb - have been widely mocked for agreeing to take part in the much-maligned new European Super League, with most fans observing that they currently appear well short of rivaling the continent's heavyweights.

Mourinho's future was in doubt after he publicly vented his frustrations with players he had guided towards an ultra-cautious, counter-attacking style of play that was rarely pleasing to watch, although his chances of retaining his role were thought to have been strengthened by his previously close relationship with Daniel Levy and the reported pay-off of around $21 million required from the Tottenham chairman to remove the Portuguese and his staff.

Spurs have won just one of their last six matches, including a loss at arch-rivals Arsenal, a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United after going ahead and a draw at relegation-threatened Newcastle in which they displayed their continuing dependence on Harry Kane, overturning a deficit through a brace by the England striker before dropping two points late on.

Mourinho's side were again indebted to a Kane double after going behind at Everton on Friday night in a match that ended 2-2, all-but extinguishing their hopes of a top-four finish.

The 58-year-old ex-Porto manager was due to lead Spurs into the League Cup final against runaway leaders Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday in an encounter that many fans were dreading in light of the contrasting form of the finalists.

He has now received his third lucrative sacking since December 2015, when Chelsea dismissed the man who initially transformed their fortunes on the pitch after Russian owner Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003.

Manchester United fired Mourinho almost exactly three years later, reacting after a run of just seven wins in their first 17 Premier League games during a period when they had become known for tactics that were perceived as negative.

United won the Europa League in Mourinho's first season but were largely uninspired in the Premier League during his tenure, with a round of 16 defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League provoking a diatribe from the coach about his abilities, following a pattern of prickly press conferences that included unedifying brags about the three Premier League titles he won with Chelsea in 2005, 2006 and 2014.

The acrimonious end of his Old Trafford reign made Mourinho a surprise choice to swiftly replace the popular Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs in November 2019, and the reverence he was held in by Levy seemed to be showcased by an Amazon Prime documentary, 'All or Nothing', going behind-the-scenes at the club.

Any concerns Spurs fans held over locker room harmony following that series returned sharply into focus following the abysmal performance in Zagreb, when Mourinho slated the "attitude" of his squad in his post-match television interview and accused them of falling short on "the basics of life, which is to respect our jobs and give everything.”

His words were almost simultaneously compounded by club captain Hugo Lloris, who strongly alluded to disharmony while calling the squad a "disgrace".

Reflecting on his explosive interview again over the weekend, the goalkeeper told Sky Sports: "I am the first one to be guilty. But it is not only me. It is the players. It is the manager. It is the coaching staff. It is the club, you know?”