Ryan Mason said he and his coaching staff have “done a great job” during his second spell as Tottenham’s interim manager.
Tottenham closed their Premier League season with a resounding 4-1 win at relegated Leeds on Sunday, but have failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2008-09.
Mason said: “When I go on my summer holidays I would hope and expect that everyone inside of our training ground knows who I am, who my team is and what we stand for.
“The hope and expectation is that you guys and everyone else sees that too. I know we’ve done a great job. I really do.”
Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United at home in Mason’s first game back in charge and have since won two and lost three of their last five matches.
The 31-year-old former Spurs midfielder, whose previous stint in temporary charge came after Jose Mourinho was sacked in 2021, replaced previous interim boss Christian Stellini with six games remaining.
Tottenham had sacked Antonio Conte at the end of March and while they were then fourth in the table, they had exited all the cup competitions and weary fans had grown disillusioned over their team’s playing style.
“The circumstances were very difficult,” said Mason, who urged the club to get get their next managerial appointment right.
“I think anyone in the world coming into this situation for six games coming off the back of what had happened and the position we were in was going to find it tough.
“Also if you add into that being on an interim basis, where there’s uncertainty it makes it even tougher.
“But we’ve stuck to what we believe in, we’ve transitioned a little bit I believe in a short space of time and the players have responded, they’ve given us everything and ultimately that’s all I can ask.”
Throughout his six games in charge, Mason has called for the club to rediscover their identity and feels that is the biggest factor as they continue their search for a new manager.
“The most important thing for any club in world football is to have an identity, know who you are and who you want to be and stick to that,” he said.
Mason also paid tribute to Harry Kane, who scored twice at Elland Road – in what could be his last game for Tottenham – to take his league tally to 30 for the season.
“I think he probably doesn’t get the appreciation he should,” Mason added.
“The goals yes, outstanding, a 30-goal season in the Premier League is incredible but also his overall performances are just outstanding.
“I also think as well to go through what happened in the World Cup, from a mental point of view, to come back and do what he’s done for the past four or five months, I think it speaks volumes for the player and the person.”
Manchester City hit by travel headache ahead of hectic fortnight
Pep Guardiola has revealed Manchester City are affected by travel problems during one of their most hectic periods of the season.
City have four away games in less than a fortnight, with Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle followed by a Premier League clash with Wolves, a Champions League outing to Leipzig and then another league game against Arsenal.
Guardiola’s men would normally travel back by train or plane to minimise time on the road but neither is available on Wednesday.
“We cannot come back by plane because we don’t have planes to travel back so we have to take a bus, it’s two, three hours later, we arrive here so, so late,” said the Catalan.
“Then Friday we have to travel to Wolves. We go to Germany to play Champions League, it’s a really, really important game for us because we know what it means to be able to win there for qualification for the next stage. This is what we have to do.”
Guardiola admits he will have to play several players he would rather rest because of injury and suspension issues in midfield, while he does not feel he can call on academy products.
“We cannot take a few of them because we sell a lot of them and still they are not ready to play with us,” he said. “That’s why I have to give time to them to develop. They are still so young to play Newcastle away.”
One player who will start is Kalvin Phillips, who impressed Guardiola after coming on against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
It will be just a fifth start for the midfielder since his move from Leeds last summer, where his performances under Marcelo Bielsa persuaded City to sign him.
“I think Marcelo gave Kalvin the best of Kalvin in his career,” said Guardiola. “I would love to have done with Kalvin what Marcelo has done to him. But it’s where he is.
“We have a specific way to play. Sometimes he struggles with a few things, but the previous game was perfect. He’s open-minded, he always wants to learn, always wants to help and this is what I try to do.”
Guardiola named “exhausted” Kyle Walker as one player he will rest but, whatever team he puts out, he expects a better performance than the one that saw City dumped out of the competition by Southampton in the quarter-finals last season.
“What we don’t want to do is perform not who we are in terms of the principles and who we are as a team, which happened last season against Southampton,” he said.
“That’s the worst game I’ve had as manager of Man City, by far. I didn’t recognise anything about that. You can lose, of course, credit to Southampton in that game, but you have to meet a minimum and this is what I want from my team in every single game, every single competition.
“And tomorrow it’s going to happen, I’m pretty sure of that.”
Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi likes the togetherness of his pacesetters
Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi thanked his stalwarts for embracing the slew of new recruits at San Siro as the Nerazzurri blaze a trail at the top of Serie A.
There was some concern that the formula which saw Inter go all the way to an unexpected Champions League final and claim a creditable third place in the league might be addled by the transfer overhaul that took place over the summer.
Although European stars including Benjamin Pavard and Marcus Thuram were thrown into the mix, many clubs have found it is not always easy to create a winning team in the short term based solely on the quality of talent recruited.
Inzaghi told a press conference: “Our squad has undergone a lot of changes, but the players who were already here have been important. They’ve helped the newcomers – however experienced they are – understand how to adapt to the Inter world.
“I see real willingness: everyone has been working excellently and in a really determined fashion since July.”
Inter host Sassuolo on Wednesday having thumped city rivals AC Milan 5-1, drawn away at Real Sociedad and squeezed past Empoli 1-0 on Sunday, with a trip to Salernitana on the schedule for the upcoming weekend.
“It’ll be our fourth match in 10 days, with many players having also been away on international duty and done plenty of travelling,” Inzaghi added.
“However, I’m lucky enough to coach a competitive squad. We still need to train this afternoon and then I’ll make my choices.”
On the threat posed by Sassuolo, the former Lazio striker said: “They come into this game having beaten Juventus thanks to a really good display and they have a excellent coach who has his team really well organised.
“We need to be determined as we look to produce a big performance.”
His opposite number in the Neroverdi dugout, Alessio Dionisi, led his side to a 4-2 triumph over Juve last time out and told reporters: “The victory has given us awareness, and we obtained a great result against a better team.
“We know what we did on Sunday will not be enough against Inter because right now they are superior. They are superior to everyone.
“We must try to be the best possible version of Sassuolo, we made it on Saturday and we must do the same tomorrow against a team that seems unplayable.
“We’ll need courage and personality.”
Leicester still have Premier League quality – Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders
Liverpool assistant boss Pep Lijnders believes they will take on a Premier League quality team in Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
The Championship leaders, who look set to vie for an immediate return to the top flight under new coach Enzo Maresca, will make the trip to Anfield for a third-round tie.
Lijnders took over the hotseat from Jurgen Klopp for the pre-match press conference, and he said: “We know we’re going to play against a team that has a lot of individual quality.
“It shows how they are doing in the league. A real clear offensive game idea, very quick installation of this idea with the coach Enzo – he does an unbelievable job. I think each player could play in the Premier League.
“It will be really hard for us to get control of their key players and at the same time put them under pressure. As always in each game we will focus on ourselves.
“Of course we will make changes but we want to put our game into place, we want to be dominant, we want to be in their half of the pitch.”
The game will come too soon for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who Lijnders said “looked outstanding” on his return to training on Monday following a hamstring injury.
Midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who is yet to make an appearance this season, is back on the grass but is working individually.
There could be another chance, though, for 17-year-old winger Ben Doak, who started last week’s Europa League match in Linz.
Lijnders cited his Dutch heritage while discussing Doak’s potential, saying: “He is young so a lot of things can happen.
“I had the privilege to grow up in Holland and we have this culture, a long tactical culture of Johan Cruyff. This idea of having the wingers on the outside, they can create, can really disorganise the opposition, use the speed.
“Then, if you get a young winger from Scotland but only 17 years old and he has this capacity to create and to reach the final line with individual movement, it’s nice to see.
“The good thing about Ben in my opinion is he comes into a squad with so much senior authority. He will never make a sidestep, the boys will already tell him.
“He has this great low gravity and that’s how he can control the ball better. So he’s a really interesting player but loads to come, he needs to mature, he needs to listen to Robbo (Andy Robertson), to Mo Salah, to all these guys that are trying to help him.
“And I think it’s really good for the older players to have young players with this hunger. That combination is what we always had and that’s how we want to construct the squad.”
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