Tottenham are now 6/1 fifth favourites to be relegated from the Premier League after sacking Thomas Frank.
It ended a miserable eight-month spell for the former Brentford boss, and was sealed by a 2-1 home defeat by Newcastle that left Spurs 16th in the Premier League table and just five points above the relegation zone.
Premier League relegation odds (via Sky Bet)
- West Ham - 1/2
- Nottm Forest - 7/2
- Tottenham - 6/1
- Leeds - 10/1
- Brighton - 25/1
- Crystal Palace - 28/1
- Man City - 40/1
- Sunderland - 40/1
Tottenham's form has been dreadful almost all season, but only recently have they plummeted towards the bottom three.
That is in no small part due to the teams around them finding form, and it is sure to have been a contributory factor in the Spurs hierarchy feeling they had to act.
Leeds United's fightback at Chelsea to draw 2-2 continued their impressive form since Daniel Farke switched to a back five when 2-0 down at half-time against Manchester City in November.
They have adopted that formation from the start in all 13 subsequent league matches, losing just twice (W4 D7 L2) and averaging 1.46 points per game - more than enough to see them comfortably avoid an immediate return to the Sky Bet Championship.
Only three weeks ago West Ham looked certain to join doomed duo Wolves and Burnley in being relegated to the second tier.
But Nuno's side have won three of their last five matches, and came within a whisker of a fourth victory only to concede a 96th-minute equaliser against Manchester United on Tuesday.
They even showed plenty of positives in the one match they have lost, leading Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge only for the Blues to complete a comeback in stoppage time.
Nottingham Forest will move level on points with Tottenham should they beat Wolves at the City Ground on Wednesday.
For some reason, perhaps the strong form of Leeds and West Ham, it is being widely suggested that Forest are in poor form themselves - results say otherwise.
Defeat by Leeds last time out is their only loss in their last five league fixtures (WDWDL) with a draw at home to Arsenal and win at Brentford particularly impressive in that run.
After inheriting a team with five points after eight matches, Dyche has taken 21 from 17 (1.24 ppg) and across their last five games his team have secure 1.6 ppg.
There is no reason to believe Forest won't comfortably pass 40 points.
Then there is Spurs.
Their next fixture is a north London derby with Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 22.
Ordinarily for a team in a relegation battle, their own ground forms the basis for survival. Tottenham have lost a staggering 16 of their last 27 home league games, taking only 19 points in that time.
Should they continue to perform at that rate (0.73 points per game) it will take them on to 34 points.
That would leave them requiring six points from trips to Fulham, Liverpool, Sunderland, Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea to reach the much-heralded 40-point mark. Given the recent form of Leeds, West Ham and Forest, that may not be enough anyway.
And this is all without factoring in another glaring issue that like Ange Postecoglou before him, Frank was at pains to point out.
Tottenham may be a 'big six' club in the Champions League round of 16 with a big budget, but they have a big injury crisis, ripping the spine out of their team.
Ten established first-team players, plus the suspended Cristian Romero, were missing from the matchday squad against Newcastle with academy players making up five of the nine places on the substitutes bench.
Many of those in the treatment room - James Maddison, Mohamed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies - may not play again this season, and even if they do, it may not be until late April.
These are worrying times for a club that has spent only one season (1977/78) outside the top flight since 1950.
Perhaps even more worrying is that nobody is even claiming that they're too good to go down.
Has a club ever been relegated with 40 points?
In the 30 Premier League seasons that have had 38 games a season, on only three occasions has a club been relegated with 40 points.
In 1996/97 Sunderland went down with 40 points, and so did Bolton the following year.
West Ham hold the unenviable record of being relegated with the most points after their 42 in 2002/03 proved insufficient.
How many points are needed to stay up?
While 40 points is seen as the landmark for mathematical safety, of the 30 Premier League season's to have 38-games, 36 points has been enough for survival on 18 occasions.
Odds correct at 15:00 GMT (11/2/26)
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