Ryan Mason sees Eddie Howe as an inspiration as he seeks to become the next Tottenham Hotspur head coach amid news that Julian Nagelsmann is not a candidate for the role and the acting Spurs boss has also slapped down a criticism of him from some Spurs fans.
Ryan Mason said: “I’ve always said I’m ready. I’m ready for this moment. I feel like I can help the club. That’s my general feeling, and I’ll stay true to that. That’s been my feeling ever since the club trusted me to take on this responsibility. Obviously, you mentioned Eddie Howe and he is an incredible manager. He’s an inspiration. I think one probably not spoken about a great deal as well is Gary O’Neill. The job that he’s done has gone under the radar a little bit but a young English manager and his first job. I think if you take three or four managers out the top of the table in terms of the overall season, he has probably done one of the best jobs of the season. So hats off to him. He is someone also that inspires me because he is young and it’s his first job, and he’s done incredibly well. So anyone sitting in this type of position will believe and have full faith that they can have a positive impact.”
Spurs are in turmoil right now without a permanent manager of their men’s or women’s teams, no director of football, chants from fans calling for chairman Daniel Levy’s exit and they have dropped back down the table in recent months after challenging for a top four spot. Mason is the club’s third head coach this season but he believes that the north London outfit are not in as bad a state as people are making out and only need a few right decisions to send them back in the direction they need to be heading.
Ryan Mason said: “I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone’s thinking and everyone is saying it is. Absolutely not. We’re a strong football club. We’re a big football club with big players, with top players. We have a lot to be successful and a lot to be excited about. So I’m not doom and gloom. Definitely not. I’m optimistic about this club. I believe. I believe in the group. I believe in the club. I believe that there’s many people here that want to make it right and want to put it right and, and be good. Obviously, it’s been a difficult season for us as it has been quite up and down. I think some of it’s probably been self-inflicted. It’s come from within at times, which probably shouldn’t happen, but we’re not in as bad a position as some people might think, we’re in a good position and hopefully we can kick on and be successful. Football can change very, very quickly, but it’s important that you stay consistent in what you are and who you are, and I think when you do that we see in the Premier League now that there’s so many teams working in a good way that it’s difficult, it’s tough to always arrive at the top and compete at the top all the time. Maybe there’s one team that has done it consistently in the last sort of five or six years. One or two teams, shall I say, but it’s important that we understand that yeah, we need to work, we need to believe we need to stay consistent and be who we want to be and stick to who we want to be and then football can change so quickly.”
Mason wants to build respect back within the club’s walls, not only earning it himself but also among the players and staff around Spurs.
Ryan Mason said: “I think when we talk about respect, I think everyone needs to earn everyone’s respect at every moment. That’s not just me. That’s not because I played with a group of some of the players and they naturally respect me, that’s not the case. I earn my respect and I expect everyone in these walls to respect each other and be working together for the football club. That is the most important thing for any football club. Every member of staff is valued, because there’s so many people here to put a lot of hours and a lot of energy into Tottenham Hotspur, and they need to feel part of something, and certainly, that’s the best situation for the club.”
One thing Mason did take umbrage at was a suggestion that back in his previous caretaker spell in 2021 – when he won four of his six Premier League games in charge as a 29-year-old – some fans believed he would “only pick his mates” when naming former team-mates in his sides. When it was pointed out that he broke that suggestion by dropping Eric Dier for the victory against Crystal Palace, Mason was clearly unimpressed with the notion that he would pick his starting line-ups based on who his friends were.
Ryan Mason said: “That’s an absolute myth. I’ve never heard that, but if you’re saying that, it’s not true. My job is to pick a team that I feel is best capable of winning a football match. It’s not a case of having friends. That was clear two years ago and that’s clear now. I’m in a position where I need to do a job to the best of our abilities with my coaching team. We’re professionals so every decision we make is in the best interests of the team and the football club.”
On Dier,
Ryan Mason added: “He’s a professional and he’s responded how I expected him to respond and how I would expect any one of the squad players to respond in a professional manner, and understand that sometimes you have to make difficult decisions for the team. He came on and contributed to the three points. He had an important role in a couple of set pieces and was ready to help the team, so as I expected.”
Mason had earlier admitted that he agreed with Harry Kane that Tottenham have in recent years lost some of the core values they had during Mauricio Pochettino’s time and he was asked whether he had been trying to change the culture and environment back in 2021 when he took on the job as an interim boss.
Ryan Mason said: “Probably. Yeah. The results are the main focus but I understand results come off the back of a lot of other things that contribute to that. Probably what we didn’t have two years ago is the fans in the stadium, which can sometimes change the feeling, change the energy at times. I will say it again, it is important any football club is consistent in what they are, how they operate and how they work. I think for me, probably in a very similar position now I know in 2021 when that final game at Leicester was finished, I knew everyone inside these walls knew how we worked and who we were and what we stood for. I think with any coaching team it is one of the most important things to have an identity and know who you are. I am sure in two-and-a-half weeks’ time and our last game away at Elland Road, regardless of what happens results-wise on the pitch, everyone inside here and hopefully our fans understand who we are, what we are as a coaching team and where we feel like in this moment in time Tottenham should be.”
