Tottenham are in talks with their former manager Mauricio Pochettino over reduction in his £8.5million-a-year salary, five months after he was sacked.

Pochettino has continued to be paid in full since his dismissal in November, with the club placing him on gardening leave until he finds a new job.

Spurs this week reversed their decision to cut the salaries of all non-playing staff and use the government's taxpayer-funded furloughing scheme but Daniel Levy, the chairman, remains deeply concerned about the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the club.

Levy – who earned £7m in 2019 – and the board have agreed to take salary reductions during the crisis and the club remain in talks with their players and Pochettino's successor, Jose Mourinho, about pay-cuts or deferrals.

Spurs are hopeful that they can also reach an agreement with Pochettino and his staff – Jesus Perez, Miguel D'Agostino and Toni Jimenez – about a new pay understanding, likely to be a wage deferral, to ease the pressure on the club during the crisis.

Levy has warned that clubs "big or small" could cease to exist after the pandemic, while in a statement announcing their U-turn over furloughing the club said: "In these uncertain times, we have to ensure we are in a position to meet our financial obligations and protect the Club’s ability to be able to operate when football returns."