A major behind-the-scenes claim about Tottenham Hotspur boss Nuno Santo has emerged this week...

What's the word?

According to Football Insider, a Spurs source has revealed that several of the club's first-team stars are "unimpressed" and "unhappy" with the 47-year-old's training methods and communication skills.

It's thought that the Portuguese head coach has "few allies" in the dressing room and with the pressure already mounting just four months into his reign, it doesn't bode well for either party.

Nuno put pen to paper on a two-year deal, though the Lilywhites hierarchy are able to sack him in the summer without paying any compensation, should he fail to secure a top-six finish, as per The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Not a good look

Spurs kickstarted the 2021/22 on fire, winning three straight matches in the Premier League, in which they defeated defending champions Manchester City and the manager's former club, Wolves.

But in September, they suffered three heavy defeats, conceding three times in each outing and that included an embarrassing showing in the north London derby, whilst the side had to salvage a point from their UEFA Europa Conference League opener.

Nuno's men went into the international break on the back of a 2-1 win over Aston Villa and they'll be looking to build on that against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

However, the pressure will still be on the Portuguese to deliver more positive results and this latest development does him no favours whatsoever.

Much of the fanbase were either never behind him or have turned against him in the past month and it now appears that there aren't many in the dressing room who are happy to have him in charge either.

This whole situation is merely within touching distance of becoming rather toxic, something we witnessed towards the end of Jose Mourinho's reign, where he was said to have "sucked the culture out of the club."

Nuno must be hugely worried by these leaks as it'll only increase the pressure he's under heading into quite an important encounter on Sunday. The Magpies will be buoyed by their recent takeover, so they will be no easy test.

A fourth defeat in five could leave him in a perilous situation.

AND in other news, Nuno Santo must now start this Spurs colossus over Eric Dier...