Despite Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho's coaching methods being "second to nobody in the world" according to The Special One himself, it seems he may have to be applying them elsewhere in the not-too-distant future. 

It doesn't take a reputable source to recognise pressure is mounting on the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager.

After a strong start to the 2020/21 Premier League season that had generated murmurs of a shock title bid, Spurs are now in ninth place, have lost five of their last six top flight matches and lay nine points away from West Ham in fourth spot - the bitter rivals Tottenham fittingly suffered defeat to on Sunday.

Nonetheless, a reputable source is what we now have, with The Telegraph reporting that Mourinho faces a crucial 12-day stretch to try and turn his fortunes around.

In that time, Spurs will play four incredibly winnable games, which is why they've been outlined as the Portuguese's opportunity to get his side's season back on the right track.

Following a second-leg Europa League tie with Wolfsburg in which Spurs already boast a 4-1 aggregate advantage, the north Londoners will take on Burnley, Fulham and Crystal Palace in the Premier League - all three sides are currently placed 13th or lower in the table. 

But should Mourinho fail to advantage of this favourable run of fixtures - or worse, should Tottenham implode spectacularly - that could be what compels chairman Daniel Levy to start working on a deal to bring Julian Nagelsmann to the club.

The Telegraph claims he will be Spurs' top managerial target should they decide Mourinho's time is up, although it may require waiting until the summer to prize him away from RB Leipzig.

Nagelsmann's current employers are still challenging for the Bundesliga title with a two-point deficit to Bayern Munich and even have a chance of beating Liverpool in the Champions League despite considering the Reds' woeful Anfield form, despite a 2-0 first leg loss. 

Nonetheless, Nagelsmann is seen as arguably the most promising young manager in Europe at just 32.

He's also believed to be open to moving to the Premier League ahead of next season and employs a style of play that's far closer to Spurs' traditional identity than Mourinho's current philosophy. 

It seems there's still a long way to go before Nagelsmann can be considered Tottenham-bound, but clearly the club already have him in their thoughts and plenty of ideas of what post-Mourinho life might look like for them.