Daniel Levy was warned about Tottenham relegation battle in chilling premonition that has become reality | OneFootball

Antonio Conte predicted Spurs could find themselves in a battle to stay up - and the previously unthinkable is now a possibility

It was Ange Postecoglou's predecessor, Antonio Conte, who first predicted Tottenham could find themselves mired in a relegation battle.

Conte's point was that the Premier League was becoming ever more competitive with every season and clubs like Spurs, who had previously only looked up the table, could be dragged towards the foot if they were not run with due care.

The day after his warning, Conte's team thrashed Everton 5-0 to make his comments seem outlandish but fast forward nearly three years and the Italian's premonition appears increasingly prescient after Postecoglou's side lost 3-2 at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Daniel Levy, pictured at Goodison Park on Sunday, has a big decision to make over the future of Ange Postecoglou

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The prospect of Spurs, a member of the Premier League's so-called ‘Big Six’, staring over their shoulders at the drop zone at this stage of a season was previously unthinkable but now it is a reality, with the club 15th in the table after 22 games.

Not even Conte could have forecast the devastating scale of Spurs' current injury crisis - which deepened this week with a calf strain for Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke's tweaked knee - but he had seen enough of the English football landscape to fear the worst for the club.

Postecoglou refused to be drawn on whether present-day Spurs were in a relegation scrap before the trip to Merseyside but Everton's victory, which was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested, moved them to within four points of their opponents with a game in hand.

Spurs are plainly in relegation form and spiralling downwards at alarming speed, with only the bottom two - Southampton and Leicester - picking up fewer points in the last 10 games; Spurs host the Foxes this week in what suddenly feels like a potential six-pointer.

The way Postecoglou's side played in the first half on Sunday made Everton the worst defeat of their wretched run since the 4-0 win at Manchester City, as the head coach's switch to a back three backfired, leaving the visitors wide open.

The first half had the feel of Spurs’ 6-1 defeat to Newcastle in April 2023, when Conte's former assistant Cristian Stellini actually switched *from* a back three to a four-man defence, with disastrous results.

Galvanised by the introductions of Richarlison and teenager Mikey Moore, Spurs rallied but were fortunate to come away with an 11th one-goal defeat of the league season.

While the Newcastle loss spelled the end of Stellini and genuinely felt like rock bottom for Spurs, there is every chance this season could still get worse, particularly given the injuries to forwards Solanke and Johnson, who will both be out for “weeks”, according to Postecoglou.

Spurs face a crucial period on and off the pitch to save their season

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Spurs are still in three cup competitions, so it has been easy to remain optimistic about their prospects and defer judgement over their dismal League form.

If little changes before the end of the month, however, it would be remarkable if Spurs held on to their 1-0 lead over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final decider at Anfield or won at Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Two defeats in four days would leave their campaign effectively hinging on the Europa League.

In the meantime, Spurs desperately need results against the Foxes and Brentford in the Premier League, as well as points from the meetings with Hoffenheim and IF Elfsborg on the next two Thursdays to avoid a hugely unwanted European play-off.

Postecoglou and his players are not beyond questioning but Daniel Levy was again the focus of the away fans’ frustration at Goodison Park, with the chairman under huge pressure to deliver the signings the club so desperately needs in the next 10 days.

The situation feels like one of the stickiest binds Levy has faced at Spurs, with the chairman and the club stuck between a rock and a hard place - or, more specifically, between an unprecedented injury pile-up and an unrelenting fixture schedule.

In the past, Levy has sacked managers when League form has gone south. But replacing Postecoglou would not heal the club's injured players, and who in their right mind would want to take the Spurs job at this stage of their season?

There is every chance the situation would get even worse if Spurs replace Postecoglou because, as the second half on Sunday illustrated, the players are still fighting for the Australian and there is so much about the situation which is beyond his control.

It feels plausible, though, that there may come a point where Levy feels he can no longer afford to do nothing if Spurs continue to slide down the table.

While the club have remained in the cup competitions, it has felt like their season could still be successful - transformative and historic, even - and that has left the League fixtures as an afterthought, allowing the players and fans to write off bad results and defer judgement on Postecoglou's depleted team.

With a relegation battle no longer beyond the realms of possibility, that attitude can no longer continue, as Spurs face up to a crucial period on and off the pitch to save their season.