Tottenham's partnership with Real Madrid has got off to a rocky start after Andre Villas-Boas revealed he has not spoken to Jose Mourinho for a long time and does not even have his former mentor's phone number.
Tottenham announced on Monday that as part of the deal which saw Luka Modric move to the Bernabeu, a partnership had been agreed that would 'see the two clubs together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.'
Yet any co-operation between the two managers appears unlikely for now thanks to Villas-Boas' frosty relationship with Mourinho.
Villas-Boas was one of Mourinho's most trusted lieutenants during their time together at Chelsea and Inter Milan, but their relationship soured when the 34-year-old left the San Siro to take over lowly Portuguese side Acadimica de Coimbra in 2009.
'It's a club co-operation,' Villas-Boas said when asked about the partnership with Mourinho's side. 'I was working for Jose for five years but we haven't spoken for quite some time.'
When asked about the possibility that Spurs could benefit by loaning or buying up and coming players from the nine-time European champions, Villas Boas' response was not exactly encouraging.
'I haven't got his number,' he said.
Villas-Boas has taken a number of steps to thaw the relationship between the pair in recent times.
Mourinho was one of the people he paid tribute to after winning the Europa League with Porto in 2011 and spoke in glowing terms about his compatriot just last week, describing him as 'one of the best managers in the world.'
It is unclear whether Mourinho is willing to rebuild bridges with Villas-Boas for the sake of the partnership between the two clubs.
Now the transfer window has shut, Villas-Boas must turn his attention to Saturday's home game against Norwich.
The 34-year-old has brought two decent displays out of his new side, but Spurs have only taken one point from their clashes against Newcastle and West Brom.
The Portuguese admits he was frustrated to concede an injury-team equaliser against the Baggies last weekend, but is not overly concerned about his team's poor start.
'We wanted to start better,' Villas-Boas said.
'One point out of a possible six is something that disappoints us, but we played two excellent games against both teams.
'We have to improve on our concentration levels and take the games through with results that are more positive to us.'
The Canaries put a huge dent in Tottenham's Champions League ambitions last season when they won 2-1 at White Hart Lane in April.
The Norfolk side have struggled so far this season under new manager Chris Hughton, losing 5-0 to Fulham on the opening day of the season before claiming a 1-1 home draw against QPR last weekend.
Villas-Boas thinks Hughton's men will go in to tomorrow's game with confidence, however, after they registered their first win of the season against Scunthorpe in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
'It has been a difficult start for them,' Villas-Boas said.
'But the win in the League Cup is something that will inspire them and give them more confidence and they have strengthened by signing a good player - Alex Tettey, who I tried to sign for Porto.'
Villas-Boas could hand Dembele his debut and a knee injury to Younes Kaboul means Steven Caulker could get his first Barclays Premier League start for the club.
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