Antonio Conte has given Tottenham an ultimatum over his future, admitting he will only stick around if he is 100 per cent convinced by the club's project.
But talkSPORT has been told the Italian doesn't have the patience for a rebuild job and is unlikely to still be in charge of Spurs by the end of the season.
Conte has been frank about his long-term Tottenham future
The Italian has repeatedly said he is happy at the north London club, but now appears to have put pressure on board to keep him around beyond the end of his contract in the summer.
Conte has been associated with winning teams throughout his coaching career, having collected five league titles as head coach of Juventus, Inter and Chelsea.
It was a new challenge for the 53-year-old, then, when he was appointed at Tottenham with the short-term aim of delivering top four and a long-term aim of making them title contenders.
But, despite qualifying for the Champions League last term, things seem to have taken a slide during his second campaign in charge.
Conte has been forced to comment about his long-term future as Tottenham manager multiple times this season, and every time has insisted he is happy.
Ahead of Wednesday night's league trip to Crystal Palace, the Italian was frank, admitting he will 'have to go' if he feels Spurs cannot improve.
Conte has admitted he may depart Tottenham if he feels he cannot achieve his goals with the club
"Here, I understood that my task is different," he said. "My task here is to help the club, to build a solid foundation, to create a base and then to try to improve.
"If you ask me if the challenge is to win the Premier League, to win the Champions League, this is not the task here in this moment. The task for me is to help the club I found. I signed a contract in November 2021 when I found the club in a difficult position for many reasons.
"Now my task, I understood it very well, is to try to help the club go in the right direction or to come back in the right direction about the choices of the players, about the work, to organise and to create a foundation.
"Now this is my big challenge here. Now if I want to stay here, then I have to accept this. Otherwise, if I don't want to accept this then I have to go."
Pressed on how long he would give the current project before deciding to move on, Conte accepted he would not stick around forever.
"At the start for me it wasn't easy. This is an important experience. I accepted to do this because I found a great club, a modern club and for this reason I'm happy to work here," Conte insisted.
Spurs are looking low in confidence at the moment
"My big challenge is this. To continue to work so strong with my staff and the players, to improve the club, to create a solid foundation.
"If I am satisfied to continue to do this work and to one day see the result I will continue to stay, if I'm not convinced 100 per cent then I can leave my work here.
"It's a big work we are doing together. I know very well what it is and it's important
"For now the most important thing is that the process has started. This is very important. Then, the process you can accelerate or you go step by step. It depends also on many circumstances."
However, talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor says he can't see Conte still in charge of Spurs next season.
In fact, the former Aston Villa captain claims he can't see the Italian still in the Tottenham dugout by the end of the season, saying he doesn't have the patience to stick around for a long-term rebuilding job.
Tottenham were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa last time out - a result which left them five points adrift of the top-four
And he believes Conte's exit could see Harry Kane leave the club, too.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: "Can Conte handle a rebuilding job? It's not really what Conte does. I don't think he's got the patience.
"I watched the Villa game and I said to a friend it was the easiest away win Villa have had for years, it was easy, it was like playing an Under-21 team. There was no threat for Spurs, they didn't have a shot on target in the second-half, it was so comfortable for Villa, they didn't even have to get out of second gear.
"Conte would have watched that and thought, 'Can I be bothered with this? This team, they haven't got a winning mentality, their defence is an absolute shambles, with Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison injured they're struggling going forward and Rodrigo Bentancur is a big miss in midfield too.
"I don't think he will still be manager at the end of the season. I don't think he has the patience for it.
"And will Harry Kane even want to stay? He's probably thinking, 'Come on now, the joke's over, I want to win some trophies'.
"I don't think he's going to be happy staying at Spurs and not winning trophies, they look a million miles away from winning anything.
"This group of players has no chance of even getting top-four, for me."
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