Ryan Mason again reiterated he was ready to become Tottenham head coach on a dramatic day in the search for Antonio Conte’s successor after Julian Nagelsmann was ruled out of the running.
Nagelsmann has been heavily linked with the post since his shock departure from Bayern Munich at the end of March.
The 35-year-old was in the mix for the Spurs job in 2021 before Bayern swooped in at the time.
When Conte left Tottenham soon after Nagelsmann’s dramatic exit from the Bundesliga champions, it was anticipated the German coach would again be in the running for the vacancy at the Premier League club.
Speculation has rumbled on since but, while Tottenham have great respect for Nagelsmann, they will not be meeting or interviewing him for the role and he is not a contender, the PA news agency understands.
Mason remains the current man in post on an acting head coach basis and earlier on Friday listed Eddie Howe as an inspiration after he took the Bournemouth job at the same age of 31.
“I’ve always said I’m ready,” Mason insisted ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.
“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’Neil. The job that he’s done (at Bournemouth) has gone under the radar a little bit but a young English manager and his first job.”
Last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace earned Mason a first win during his second stint as Tottenham’s interim boss.
During his first spell in 2021, where he won four of his six Premier League games, the former Spurs midfielder was accused by a section of supporters’ of favouritism towards his old team-mates.
However, having dropped virtual ever-present Eric Dier last Saturday, Mason shut down those claims.
He added: “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.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham talisman Harry Kane has spent some of the past week discussing the club’s current plight during various interviews and regularly referenced how key values had been lost in recent years.
Kane mentioned how the culture and environment created by old boss Mauricio Pochettino had to be restored in a hint that his future could lie with Spurs despite continuously being linked with a move away.
“I’m happy that I saw him speak out the other day on things that he wants to be in place going forward for this football club because it’s important that our best players drive and push for certain things,” Mason said.
“It’s good. I back him. I think what he said is right.”
Spurs have endured a difficult campaign with Conte and Cristian Stellini leaving, while Fabio Paratici departed his role as managing director of football after being given a worldwide ban for his role in allegations of false accounting at Juventus.
On the pitch, Tottenham failed to go beyond the quarter-final stage in the Champions League, FA Cup or Carabao Cup and can only hope for a sixth-place finish now.
But Mason stated: “We’re a big football club with big players, 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 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 be good.
“Obviously, it’s been a difficult season for us, it has been quite up and down. I think some of it’s probably been self conflict. 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.”
Arsenal's season a positive step even if title eludes them, says Parlour
Arsenal will be better for the experience of pushing Manchester City close even if they fail to capture the Premier League title this season, says former Gunners midfielder Ray Parlour.
Having dropped away during the run-in as City captured their third straight title in 2022-23, Mikel Arteta's side have kicked on this campaign and currently hold a one-point lead at the summit.
However, City have three games to play to Arsenal's two, leaving the Gunners praying for a slip-up from the champions, who face Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham in their remaining fixtures.
While Parlour finds it difficult to see City dropping points at this stage, he believes this season has been another positive step for Arteta's team, whatever the outcome.
Parlour, an ambassador for NetBet, told Stats Perform: "I think it's been so positive this season.
"Even if they do come second, I think they've got better from last year and that's all you can keep doing, keep improving.
"We all know Man City are an absolute machine. Arsenal just have to keep trying to improve. It's a young team, they'll learn every year by going close, by playing big games. It can only be good for them.
"I'm sure they'll be looking in the market in the summer, trying to get the right people in. I think it's been positive.
"The problem is you set the bar high and it's not going to get lower, it's got to go a little bit higher again. That's the hard bit, to keep maintaining the consistency, what you've done so far."
City are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League games (16 wins, four draws). They have won each of their last six while netting four or more goals in five of them – against Aston Villa (4-1), Crystal Palace (4-2), Luton Town (5-1), Brighton and Hove Albion (4-0) and Wolves (5-1).
Parlour admits the champions' form is ominous and believes Arsenal will look back on last month's 2-0 defeat to Villa with plenty of regrets, saying: "All they can do is keep winning games.
"I look at Man City's run-in, I just can't see them dropping a point, that's my problem. Football's a funny game, so it can happen. I've seen Crystal Palace go to the Etihad and beat them, but it doesn't happen too often, especially towards the end of the season.
"Arsenal have really pushed them all the way. They'll be kicking themselves a little bit with the Aston Villa game, but sometimes games don't go your way."
Ray Parlour was speaking on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting.
McGinn focusing on 'astronomical achievement' of Champions League qualification after Aston Villa heartbreak
John McGinn is quickly turning his focus to the "astronomical achievement" of Champions League qualification after Aston Villa suffered heartbreak in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
Villa were among the favourites to lift Europe's third-tier trophy but a 2-0 defeat at Olympiacos on Thursday consigned Unai Emery's men to a 6-2 aggregate loss over the two-leg tie.
It means Villa end what has largely been viewed as an excellent season without a trophy but they can still finish on a high by securing a top-four finish in the Premier League.
They lead fifth-place Tottenham by seven points with two games left in their domestic season, albeit Spurs do have a game in hand.
McGinn apologised to the travelling support in Piraeus but, speaking to TNT Sports after the game, said there is still an opportunity to finish the season on a high.
"We went into this competition as favourites and we handled that pressure throughout the competition, I think it’s been a huge learning curve for us," he said.
"It's not been a smooth journey, we got to the semi-finals down to the bare bones a bit.
"However, those of us who were out there over the two legs, we lost to who were the better team and I think the scoreline proves it."
"Our instant feeling is absolutely gutted. We all wanted to be back here for the final.
"Olympiacos gave it absolutely everything, played out of their skin in both legs, and overall the scoreline proves they were the better team.
"We'll reflect, there's a lot of things we could have done better, but over the season, of course, we can be proud of the journey.
"Obviously, we need to apologise to the supporters who have travelled here, they've travelled the whole campaign with us.
"We wanted to deliver a trophy to them, we all wanted it as players. We’'e all bitterly disappointed, but we need a big push in the last two games to try and get over the line for the Champions League, which would be an astronomical achievement.
"But here, the overriding feeling is disappointment, frustration and an opportunity missed. Congratulations to Olympiacos and we wish them all the best in the final."
St. Louis City v Chicago Fire: Carnell warns against complacency amid unbeaten run
Bradley Carnell has warned his St. Louis City side they can't get comfortable despite a four-game unbeaten run.
Carnell's men last lost in March, since winning one and drawing three to leave St. Louis ninth in the Western Conference, just three points behind sixth-placed Austin FC.
As his team prepares to host the Chicago Fire this weekend, Carnell has cautioned his players not to become complacent.
"We can speak so many nice positives, especially with our three clean sheets in four and there are so many good moments," Carnell said.
"But I also don't want to get comfortable with that. I don't want to be used to getting draws. I don't want to hype up getting ties."
Carnell's side will look to extend their unbeaten run against a Fire team winless in four, currently 13th in the East after a poor start.
Chicago head coach Frank Klopas hopes his team don't lose faith, telling reporters: "Our focus is to continue to stay positive with the group.
"It's a process of evaluating and looking at how we can improve as a team, and then making sure once we analyse the games we look at certain things we did well and our mistakes to look to improve.
"It's a long season. I feel the team has been playing well, but we have to find a way to get points."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Joao Klauss
No St. Louis player has managed more MLS goal contributions than Klauss so far this term, scoring three and adding an assist. He will likely lead the line on Saturday and will hope to score the goals that start turning draws into wins.
Chicago Fire – Brian Gutierrez
Despite his team's poor collective start, 20-year-old midfielder Gutierrez has performed well and leads his team with three MLS goals so far this season, while also registering an assist. He will look to build on that and try to turn his side's fortunes around, starting this Saturday.
MATCH PREDICTION – ST. LOUIS WIN
St. Louis have kept clean sheets in three of their last four matches, including in the scoreless draw with the Houston Dynamo last time out. St. Louis had managed just two clean sheets in their previous 23 matches in all competitions dating back to last July.
The Fire, meanwhile, have failed to score in four straight matches. This is the fifth time Chicago have gone four or more consecutive league matches without scoring since the start of the 2021 season.
Six of St. Louis City's last eight matches have ended in draws, but home advantage should be enough to see off a struggling Chicago team on Saturday.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis: 55.5%
Chicago: 19%
Draw: 25.5%
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