Shortest managerial reigns in Tottenham's Premier League history - ranked

Since the Premier League's inception in 1992, Tottenham Hotspur have churned through 24 different managers, including a couple of very brief caretaker spells. In the century before that, only 17 strutted around the home dugout at White Hart Lane.

Spurs' 20th century was defined by revolutionaries critical to the sport's tactical advancement, like Peter McWilliam and Arthur Rowe, and the mightily successful, like Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw. Before '92, there were six managerial stints that spanned at least four years, but only one, Mauricio Pochettino, has celebrated their four-year anniversary in modern times.

There's no overlooking the direct correlation between the dwindling lifespans of managers and football's increased monetisation. With the financial stakes so significant, and our society breeding impatience, the idealists and pragmatists on the touchline have little time to make an impression.

Sometimes clubs are undoubtedly too hasty to give up on a man they've undoubtedly committed plenty of resources to. However, in Tottenham's case, they just have a knack for getting it wrong, including Daniel Levy's 13th permanent appointment.

Here are the club's five shortest managerial reigns of the Premier League era.

5. Christian Gross (290 days)

For those born this century, Christian Gross was/is no more than a punchline in a chant celebrating a manager who's remembered more fondly in N17. However, there are plenty who are well aware of Gross, the Tottenham manager, and had to suffer through his 290 days in charge.

Sir Alan Sugar does try to exude a sense of omniscience, yet it was he who brought the relatively unknown Swiss coach to the club in late 1997. Many clubs were out to get their answer to Arsène Wenger during this period, particularly Sugar, and he jumped on Jürgen Klinsmann's reported recommendation to hire Gross.

The Swiss merely had Wil and Grasshopper on his CV by the time he rocked up on English shores with a limited grasp of the language. For many, it came as no surprise that Gross failed miserably, as he oversaw just nine Premier League wins in 27 games and failed to see out a year in charge.

The 1997/98 campaign was Spurs' poorest Premier League performance in terms of points attained until 2024/25.

4. Thomas Frank (244 days)

Thomas Frank was only at the club for eight months, yet it felt like we endured his presence for years, given the monotony and dreariness of the football he oversaw.

Frank arrived in the aftermath of our Europa League success in Bilbao, and was regarded by plenty as a shrewd appointment who'd at least raise the floor and supply a semblance of stability after a chaotic but ultimately glorious campaign.

And while there was very early promise, it didn't take long for the job to overwhelm him. Supporters quickly grew tired of a rather primitive tactical approach that failed to maximise the squad at his disposal, which, don't get me wrong, needs plenty of work, but was severely underperforming.

He just offered nothing to believe in. We suffered through nadir after nadir under the Dane's tutelage, and he should've gone far sooner than he actually did. Frank's 26.9% Premier League win rate is the worst among all Tottenham managers, excluding Cristian Stellini.

3. Jacques Santini (155 days)

In need of a long-term successor after the populist-appeasing appointment of Glenn Hoddle failed to pay dividends, Levy went continental.

Again, not much was known about Jacques Santini, but he was in charge of the French national team and had earned that job after winning a league title with Lyon. Santini joined Tottenham after Euro 2004, during which France were stunned by eventual champions Greece in the quarter-finals.

He wouldn't last long in north London, with his resignation due to "personal reasons" arriving after 155 days and 13 Premier League games in charge. It was later reported that friction over transfer policy led to Santini's swift exit, and his assistant, Martin Jol, took charge, which turned out okay.

One man pleased to see the back of the Frenchman would've been José Mourinho, who was particularly scathing of Santini's approach in a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge just a few weeks into the 2004/05 campaign. "Parking the bus," Mourinho mentioned mid-rant, not knowing how ironic that would later become.

2. Tim Sherwood (148 days)

It wasn't even 150 days, but it was quite the ride. Tim Sherwood's return to White Hart Lane will be remembered for salutes, a few heavy defeats and the emergence of Harry Kane.

The departure of Gareth Bale the previous summer compromised André Villas-Boas' "give the ball to Gareth Bale as much as possible" ploy, with the not-so-magnificent seven that arrived as mitigation unsurprisingly failing to fill the void.

Well, I suppose Christian Eriksen was pretty special, we all grew to cherish Erik Lamela's oddities, and Nacer Chadli was handy for a while. Nevertheless, it was Emmanuel Adebayor who re-emerged as Spurs' protagonist during the second half of 2013/14, ending the Premier League campaign with 11 goals. Sherwood got a tune out of the veteran striker, that's for sure.

The former title-winning midfielder may have thought he'd done enough to see out the entirety of his 18-month contract, but Spurs had a succession plan in mind.

1. Nuno Espírito Santo (124 days)

There's not a chance Nuno Espírito Santo believed a single word exiting his mouth when he promised supporters that his team were going to make them "proud" after a choatic managerial search was finally brought to a close.

Nuno had done an excellent job at Wolves, and, like Frank, was regarded as a floor-raiser capable of supplying stability. The parallels to the Dane don't end there; as he also oversaw a victory over Man City very early on in his reign and inspired an utterly insipid display at the Emirates.

That 3-1 defeat to an Arsenal team that hadn't yet emerged under Mikel Arteta proved to be the beginning of the end for Nuno. Antonio Conte was ready to take over, and after another convincing defeat, this time to Manchester United on home soil, Levy pulled the plug in record time.

He lasted just 124 days and ten Premier League games, winning five and losing the rest. Still, I've seen worse brief reigns.