Fabio Capello the Leading Contender to Succeed Andre Villas-Boas at Tottenham

Fabio Capello is the bookmakers' favourite to replace Andre Villas-Boas as Tottenham manager after the Portuguese left White Hart Lane by mutual consent.

Capello was spotted in the crowd during the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool which sealed Villas-Boas' fate, and the former England manager enjoys a close relationship with Spurs' technical director Franco Baldini.

However Capello is currently Russian national team coach, and the lure of next year's World Cup may dissuade him from returning to day-to-day management in north London.

The former Italian international became one of the world's most renowned coaches during spells at Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid, winning the Champions League in 1994 as well as the Serie A and Primera Liga titles.

However his time at England ended in disappointment, after the Three Lions crashed out of the 2010 World Cup with a 4-1 defeat to Germany in the last 16.

Villas-Boas was sacked at White Hart Lane after his side suffered their worst home defeat for 16 years at the hands of Liverpool.

Two goals from Luis Suarez, and one each from Jordan Henderson, Jon Flanagan and Raheem Sterling leaves Spurs eight points behind leaders Arsenal but more pertinently was another example of the club's struggles since the summer sale of Gareth Bale.

The result came three weeks after the 6-0 loss to Manchester City, and left Tottenham with a mountain to climb to clinch a Champions League spot, which evaded them last season.

Despite achieving the club's highest points total in the Premier League era, Tottenham relinquished a healthy advantage over Arsenal in the final two months of the season to finish outside the qualification places for Europe's premier tournament.

The club offset the sale of Bale by signing seven new players including Roberto Soldado and Christian Eriksen, but Villas-Boas has failed to manage the transition successfully and a failure to beat any of the clubs regarded as competition for a top four place this season exposed the manager's capabilities.

Following the defeat to City in November, Villas-Boas was rumoured to be under pressure from the Tottenham hierarchy, with Swansea City's Michael Laudrup the frontrunner to replace him but Capello's presence among the crowd on Sunday has compelled bookmakers to change their minds.