Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold has pinpointed the night that made it clear Jose Mourinho's time at Spurs was coming to an end.

What did Gold say?

On Monday morning, the club announced that Mourinho had been sacked. Responding to the news on his YouTube channel, Gold claimed that he sensed that the 58-year-old's days were numbered after Hugo Lloris' interview following the side's Europa League exit last month.

Gold said: "Hugo Lloris – for me - that was the beginning of the end. It was that night in Croatia, especially Lloris just coming out and clearly saying ‘the togetherness that was in the squad has gone’, and that’s massive.

"For me, that’s the beginning of the end of the harmony within the squad, back-biting, sniping behind the scenes.”

Check out more reaction to Jose Mourinho's sacking and the European Super League on The Football Terrace

https://www.youtube.com/embed/V4Qg0lvT57U

What did Lloris say at the time?

Tottenham had just been knocked out of the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb, despite holding a two-goal lead from the first leg. Mourinho's men imploded in the reverse fixture, losing it 3-0 after extra time, and Lloris was not willing to hold his tongue in the aftermath of the game.

Speaking to BT Sport, as quoted by The Guardian, he said: “I think we are all more than disappointed, it is just a disgrace. I just hope everyone in the changing room feels responsible for this situation because it is a disgrace… The taste of the defeat is more than painful and we are all responsible for that.

"To behave as a team is the most difficult thing in football. Whatever the decision of the manager, you have to follow the way of the team. If you follow the team only when you are in the starting XI it causes big problems for the team because you pay.

"We had a great moment in the past because we could trust the togetherness that was in the team. Today, I’m not sure about that.”

Is Gold right?

Lloris' words were undoubtedly a damning indictment of how things were going at Tottenham at the time. However, there is an argument that Mourinho's fate was sealed four days before that game in Zagreb.

Prior to their trip to Croatia, Spurs travelled to Arsenal for the north London derby. They produced a bitterly disappointing display, and lost 2-1. In the first 70 minutes they managed just one shot, although this was scored in spectacular fashion by Erik Lamela.

But therein lies the problem. Tottenham have relied too heavily on moments of magic from Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and on this occasion Lamela, rather than coming together as a team and putting in consistent performances.

The Arsenal defeat indicated that things weren't right even before the nightmare night in the Europa League.

What next for Spurs?

The club have announced that former player Ryan Mason will take charge of the team on an interim basis until the end of the season. This suggests that the club will bide their time, and make their next full-time appointment in the summer.

Plenty of names have been thrown into the mix already, with Julian Nagelsmann, Brendan Rodgers and Maurizio Sarri all named as potential candidates, but it seems that we will have to wait a few more weeks before finding out who will replace Mourinho in the long-term.