Tottenham fans protest against board and make huge Mauricio Pochettino demand ahead of Brighton

Tottenham fans staged a protest calling for the end of the ENIC ownership and demanding the board appoint former boss Mauricio Pochettino - who has been strongly linked to the vacant managerial role.

About 40 fans were outside the stadium, two hours before kick-off, urging match-going fans to make their voices heard.

Spurs have endured another difficult campaign and have had to part company with Antonio Conte. The Italian arrived in north London with a winner’s reputation but left like the man before him, Jose Mourinho - without ending their trophy drought.

The FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United proved costly as the wait continued for a first trophy since Juande Ramos won the League Cup in 2008.

This season, the Champions League campaign ended with a round of 16 game against AC Milan and the manner of exit has left a bitter taste in the mouth of fans.

Cristian Stellini, Antonio Conte’s trusted lieutenant, has been promoted to caretaker boss to try to secure Champions League football.

But his first game in charge saw Spurs come away with a disappointing 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Everton, despite playing almost half an hour with a man advantage. In truth they were lucky to have picked a point in the end.

They face a Brighton side who are sixth in the league, four points behind Spurs in fifth. However, the south coast team have played two games less.

The Injury situation

There have been mitigating circumstances, with injuries denying the team the chance to make changes tactically.

Yves Bissouma, who signed from Brighton, is fighting to get back this season, while Rodrigo Bentancur, one of the best signings of last season, has been ruled out completely and will be lucky to start pre-season.

Richarlison, the club’s big money signing in the summer, has been in and out of the treatment room, while captain Hugo Lloris is just coming back after a knee injury kept him out for seven weeks.

Caretaker boss Stellini bemoaned the situation and called for patience ahead of the Brighton game.

He said: “At the moment nothing special because we don’t have enough players because we have a lot of injuries and it doesn’t allow us to change anything tactically.

“We’ve been preparing for a system in the last month but the injury situation means we can not use it so we have to calm down now and we have to be patient and lucid.

“The players know everything and now we have to be strong and consistent as we’ve been working with them for the last 18 months, and if we are lucky or good to win a game we have to try to score more goals.”

The state of striker Harry Kane’s contract will also be a key topic going into a summer full of uncertainty.