Tottenham have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new manager on a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season following a whirlwind 48 hours at the London club.

Mourinho, who will earn almost double the wage of his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino at £15million a year and is expected to take training later on Wednesday, said: 'I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters.

'The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me. Working with these players is what has attracted me.'

Tottenham have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new manager until the 2022-23 season ends

Mourinho's deal to become the new manager of Tottenham is worth £15million a season

Pochettino was dramatically sacked as manager of Tottenham on Tuesday evening

POCHETTINO'S EXIT: HOW SPORTSMAIL BROKE THE STORY Sportsmail reported back in October that Mourinho was hopeful of becoming Tottenham's manager - CLICK HERE to read what we said. On Monday night, Sportsmail duo Sami Mokbel and Adrian Kajumba exclusively revealed that the end was near for Mauricio Pochettino - CLICK HERE to read the article in full. Spurs visit West Ham on Saturday but there was already a backdrop of uncertainty over the Argentine's future, with sources claiming private discussions over an exit strategy had taken place. These were confirmed on Tuesday evening when he was sacked. The headline for Sportsmail's exclusive story on Pochettino's future on Monday Advertisement

Mourinho will hold his first press conference as Tottenham manager at 2pm on Thursday.

Chairman Daniel Levy, who negotiated Mourinho's arrival through agent Pini Zahavi - the man who brought Mourinho to English football in 2004 and not Jorge Mendes - added: 'In Jose we have one of the most successful managers in football.

'He has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great tactician. He has won honours at every club he has coached.

'We believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room.'

It later emerged that Tottenham's first choice to replace Mourinho was Leicester's manager, Brendan Rodgers. But when Tottenham were rebuffed in their approach for the Northern Irishman, Levy turned to Mourinho.

The two had been in touch since October, with Levy feeling that the time for a change was approaching after Bayern Munich defeated Spurs 7-2 in the Champions League on October 1. A week later, Sportsmail reported that Mourinho was keeping an eye on the situation at White Hart Lane.

It marks a dramatic shift in approach from Tottenham, with Mourinho's record one that suggests he will not stay at a side as long as the five-year reign of predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked on Tuesday night.

Mourinho, 56, was infamously riled during his time at Manchester United by their hesitancy over transfers but at Tottenham, Pochettino was unable to make a permanent signing for almost 18 months while they built their new stadium.

Tottenham chairman Levy is notoriously frugal, while Mourinho's impressive trophy record has often come at the price of expensive forays into the transfer market. The early indication, judging by how much Tottenham are paying Mourinho, is that they will back their new boss.

That said, Mourinho does not, at present, believe Tottenham's squad needs major investment and one of his main priorities will be to convince playmaker Christian Eriksen to stay at the club. Eriksen's contract expires at the end of the season and he could leave on a free transfer.

This is the first time in Tottenham's history that they have appointed a manager of Mourinho's pedigree - he has won 25 trophies in his managerial career while Tottenham's last piece of silverware was the 2008 League Cup.

Mourinho will need to kick-start Tottenham's season after a poor start under Pochettino

Mourinho has been working as a pundit at Sky Sports during his time out of managing

SPURS FIXTURES Premier League unless stated November 23 West Ham (A) November 26 Olympiacos (H) - Champions League November 30 Bournemouth (H) December 4 Manchester United (A) December 7 Burnley (H) December 11 Bayern Munich (A) - Champions League December 15 Wolves (A) December 22 Chelsea (H) Advertisement

The Portuguese is a three-time Premier League winner from his two spells at Chelsea and has won the Champions League twice, with Porto and Inter Milan, where he won the treble.

He won the domestic league twice at Porto and Inter, as well as steering Real Madrid to LaLiga glory in 2012 with 100 points, nine clear of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. And while his time at United ended in disarray, he won the Europa League and League Cup in the 2016-17 season.

Mourinho will be forming a new backroom team at Tottenham, meaning trusted assistants Rui Faria - who left United during Mourinho's time at Old Trafford - and Silvio Louro will not be brought to White Hart Lane. Fellow Portuguese Joao Sacramento has left Lille and joined Mourinho's backroom team as assistant manager.

Mourinho's appointment has prompted a mixed reaction from Tottenham's fan base. The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Club queried the long-term thinking of the appointment, saying in a statement on Wednesday: 'We hope this will bring the success we all want.

'There are obviously concerns about how Jose and our club’s executive board will work together, and we are sure all fans would appreciate greater clarity on how the club sees this relationship operating in practice.

'The questions around transfer policy, wages and accountability raised in our earlier statement on Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking still apply and we encourage the Club to communicate their plans thoroughly and transparently with their fan base.

'The club must ensure it does not find itself in the same position in two or three years’ time, and we need to hear from the Executive Board what the long-term thinking behind this appointment is, and how it sees its role.'

Some supporters hailed the appointment on social media.

'Finally Tottenham will win a trophy this season. The Mourinho effect!' one excited supporter wrote on Twitter.

Another added that the appointment was 'Genius... football's got its best character back. Spurs have a team of bottlers. Mourinho is a born winner.'

But others were concerned that Mourinho will bring the chaos that engulfed the end of his time at United.

Talk among fans turned to Mourinho being the man to go and end Tottenham's trophy drought

Another Twitter user believes it is a 'genius' move by Daniel Levy to appoint the Portuguese

While some reaction was positive, others predicted that 'this is going to be a disaster'

Jim Carrey, captured in the film Liar Liar, shows a shocked reaction and it was a popular GIF

Memes quickly took over social media with one fan reflecting on a crazy 24 hours at the club

Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham after five years on Tuesday night following an underwhelming start to the Premier League season.

Sportsmail first reported on Monday that Pochettino was on the brink of losing his job in what has been a wild two days at the London club.

Spurs are 14th in the Premier League table with 14 points and face London rivals West Ham at the weekend in Saturday's early kick-off at the London stadium.

Mourinho, who in 2015 said he would never manage Tottenham, will also face former clubs United and Chelsea in the coming weeks as he looks to steer last year's Champions League runners up into the top four. They currently trail fourth-place Manchester City by 11 points.

Mourinho arrives at Tottenham with the club 11 points away from the top four

Mourinho faces former clubs United and Chelsea early on in his Tottenham tenure

It is an intriguing task for Mourinho, who has been working as a pundit at Sky Sports during his time out from being a manager. He returns to the Premier League with a point to prove after the wheels came off during his tenure at United.

When he was sacked in December 2018 after a 3-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield, Pochettino was the red-hot favourite to replace him at OId Trafford.

But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's immediate impact as interim manager meant United handed their former player the job at Old Trafford on full-time terms and Pochettino remained at Spurs.

In 2015, Mourinho said he would never manager Tottenham because he loves Chelsea fans too much.

Speaking ahead of the League Cup final that year against Tottenham, Mourinho said: 'I would not take the job because I love Chelsea supporters too much.'

He also claimed he was approached by Tottenham to become their manager 2007.

But an alarming slide at the start of the 2019-20 campaign, after reaching the Champions League final last season, has seen Tottenham instigate an overhaul at the top of the club and they moved swiftly to appoint Mourinho.

Mourinho won the Europa League during his first season as Manchester United manager

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy (right) said Pochettino 'will always be part of our history'

Upon announcing Pochettino's departure, Spurs chairman Levy said: 'We were extremely reluctant to make this change and it is not a decision the board has taken lightly, nor in haste.

'Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.

'It falls to the board to make the difficult decisions - this one made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with Mauricio and his coaching staff - but we do so in the club's best interests.

'Mauricio and his coaching staff will always be part of our history.'

MOURINHO NOT PLANNING TO SPEND BIG IN JANUARY

Jose Mourinho has told Tottenham he does not need the backing of a major spending spree in the January transfer market.

Mourinho arrives in North London with a reputation for building his teams via lavish recruitment drives rather than moulding the players already at his disposal.

His usual approach is a strategy at odds with the way Spurs chairman Daniel Levy prefers to operate.

Levy has been focused on investment in infrastructure with the club’s acclaimed training centre near Enfield and the new stadium opened this year at a cost of more than £1billion.

Mourinho will make it a priority of his to keep Christian Eriksen, who he rates very highly

During the course of their negotiations, however, Mourinho has made it clear he is satisfied with the players already in the Tottenham squad.

Sources close to him claim it was one of the main attractions and have Spurs the edge over AC Milan who also held talks with him in recent weeks.

The Spurs chairman had been distinctly unimpressed by the public statements of dissent from Pochettino, which started with a threat to leave on the eve of the Champions League final and rumbled on through the summer.

Levy was even less impressed when results started to go awry and failed to improve and then found the players were moving in favour of a new voice.

Talks were accelerated after a fortunate home draw against Sheffield United and super-agent Pini Zahavi, who brokered Chelsea’s move for Mourinho which launched his career in England in 2004, was able to close a deal late on Tuesday night.

Mourinho is not expected to arrive with his usual backroom team but will launch his new beginning with a new coaching staff.

Among his off-field priorities will be to persuade Christian Eriksen, who is out of contract at the end of the season, to commit to a new deal but suspects the Dane already has his next move lined up.

Eriksen will be able to sign a pre-contract deal with an overseas club in six weeks.

Spurs have already tried hard to change his mind but he seems determined to leave and he will have to recapture his best form of Mourinho is unlikely to indulge him for long.

Even without Eriksen, the new manager has made it clear he is happy with the options available.

There may be a way back into the side for Eric Dier, who Mourinho also admires as a player

If there is an opportunity he would like to make improvements in defence where Tottenham have become increasingly vulnerable since selling England right-backs Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.

Up front, however, he is satisfied to have one of the world’s best centre-forwards in Harry Kane, the pace of Heung-min Son and a chance to rekindle Dele Alli.

In midfield there is the power and physical presence of Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele which has been a feature of Mourinho’s Premier League teams and the emerging craft of Harry Winks.

There may even be a way back for forgotten midfielder Eric Dier who Mourinho once tried hard to sign when he was manager of Manchester United.

MOURINHO'S TOUGH START AT TOTTENHAM

Jose Mourinho faces showdowns with former clubs Chelsea and Manchester United in the first few weeks of his Tottenham tenure.

The Portuguese has been appointed as the new Spurs manager following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday evening.

And he will face a baptism of fire in his opening few games as he attempts to lift the north London club from their current positions of 14th in the Premier League.

Jose Mourinho faces two of his former clubs - Man United and Chelsea - before Christmas

He will begin this Saturday with a trip to the London Stadium to face fierce rivals West Ham.

A home fixture against Olympiacos next Tuesday should secure Spurs' qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Mourinho's Spurs will then face a home league fixture against Bournemouth on November 30 before a midweek visit to Old Trafford to face former club United on December 4.

He delivered three Premier League titles to Chelsea, whom Spurs face on December 22

Mourinho was in charge at Old Trafford for two-and-a-half seasons before his sacking last December.

A home fixture with Burnley follows on December 7 before a visit to Bayern Munich, a club Mourinho was linked with recently, in their concluding Champions League group fixture on December 11.

They then travel to Wolves on December 15 before a crunch London derby with Chelsea, the club Mourinho managed in two spells with great success, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 22.

MOURINHO IN 2015: 'I WILL NEVER MANAGE TOTTENHAM'

Jose Mourinho has become the new manager of Tottenham despite saying back in 2015 that he could never manage the club out of respect for Chelsea .

The Portuguese, who managed Chelsea in two spells, was appointed as boss of their London rivals on Wednesday morning following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino.

Ahead of Chelsea's League Cup final with Spurs at Wembley in March 2015, Mourinho said he had been approached by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to take over at White Hart Lane in September 2007.

Jose Mourinho said back in 2015 that he could never manage Tottenham because his emotional attachment with Chelsea is too strong

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had originally offered Mourinho the job in 2007, shortly after his first spell as Chelsea manager had come to an end

That was shortly after he ended his first spell in charge of Chelsea 'by mutual consent' after falling out with owner Roman Abramovich and the Stamford Bridge board.

But Mourinho said in 2015 that he could not manage Tottenham because his emotional attachment to Chelsea was so strong.

He had also reached an agreement with Chelsea that he would not manage another English club for two years.

Asked if he was approached in 2007 by Spurs, he said: 'Yes. I couldn't go. I couldn't train in England for two years.'

According to Mourinho, Tottenham tried to offer Chelsea compensation to break the clause preventing him from England working in England but he also said: 'I would not take the job because I love Chelsea supporters too much.'

Mourinho made the comment shortly before Chelsea beat Spurs to win the 2015 League Cup

Now, despite managing Chelsea for a second spell between 2013 and 2015, Mourinho appears to have changed his tune and will begin working at their rivals in north London.

Indeed, he will take charge of Spurs against Chelsea in a Premier League showdown three days before Christmas.

Mourinho won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and three League Cups during his two spells at Chelsea and Tottenham will be hoping he delivers them similar success.

HARRY KANE PAYS TRIBUTE TO POCH

Harry Kane has paid an emotional tribute to Mauricio Pochettino after his sacking by Tottenham Hotspur, thanking the Argentine 'for helping me achieve my dreams.'

The Spurs striker tweeted a photograph of the pair joking and smiling together after Pochettino was removed from his post on Tuesday night and replaced by Jose Mourinho.

Kane wrote: 'Gaffer. I'll be forever thankful to you for helping me achieve my dreams.

Harry Kane paid a heartfelt tribute to sacked Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino

'We've had some amazing moments in the last 5 and a half years that I will never forget.

'You were my manager and my friend as well and I thank you for that relationship. Good luck with your next chapter!'

It was Pochettino who placed faith in young striker Kane when he was appointed as Spurs manager in the summer of 2014.

Kane had previously been out on four loan spells but Pochettino offered him increased chances to prove himself in the first team.

He has since developed into one of the world's best strikers, has a goal return of 174 in 268 matches for the club, and is England's captain.

He has scored 32 goals in 45 matches for England since 2015 and looks likely to surpass Wayne Rooney's national scoring record of 53 later in his career.

Kane poses with Pochettino after being awarded the Premier League Golden Boot in 2016-17

Pochettino was sacked on Tuesday evening following an inconsistent start to the season that sees Spurs 14th in the Premier League table.

Their poor form comes just months after they reached the final of the Champions League, losing 2-0 to Liverpool.

Pochettino has delivered four consecutive top four finishes in the Premier League, including two title challenges, during his time with the club.

MOURINHO TOOK AIM AT TOTTENHAM AS A PUNDIT

Jose Mourinho has not held back on his opinions about Tottenham during his time out of management and the Portuguese may have to face some awkward conversations after taking over at the north London club on Wednesday.

Mourinho signed a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season with the north London club and has been handed double the salary of predecessor Mauricio Pochettino.

Since being sacked by Manchester United close to 12 months ago, he has focused on work as a TV pundit and has a wealth of punchy soundbites on Spurs, from suggesting he would sell stars like Christian Eriksen to accusing Harry Kane of 'hiding' in the Champions League final.

Jose Mourinho has been critical of Tottenham during his time working as a television pundit

'They have their eyes in bigger pictures,' the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss said on Sky Sports about Tottenham's players.

'Other players getting more money to them, other players winning title. Look to Kyle Walker winning trophies. Looking to playing for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain.

One of Mourinho's big criticisms has surrounded the volume of players running down their contracts, giving a clear indication that they no longer wish to remain at the club.

Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are all free to speak to clubs outside of England as early as January and for Mourinho, he has no desire to keep players who have minds elsewhere.

He accused striker Harry Kane (right) of 'hiding' during the Champions League final in June

Asked last month how he would have handle the situation, Mourinho said on Sky: 'I don't like to keep players that don't want to stay at the club.

'I think it is always really difficult. I am not thinking about the economical perspective, I mean from a motivational point of view. We sold Robben to Real Madrid, Chelsea didn't want to or need the money. But he didn't want to be there and wanted to go.

'There are some moments where motivation affects performance and it is difficult to keep players happy when they have other dreams.'