Stand-in Mason can expect Spurs baptism of fire
RYAN MASON will lead his boyhood club out at Wembley on Sunday after being named Tottenham’s interim head coach until the end of the season following Jose Mourinho’s sacking.
Spurs have identified RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann as first choice to replace Mourinho longterm, although they may face competition for the highly-rated 33-year-old from Bayern Munich.
Mason, 29, oversaw firstteam training yesterday and was this morning confirmed as boss for the six remaining League matches of the season and Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City.
The club’s former midfielder (far right), who was forced to retire aged 26 after suffering a fractured skull while playing for Hull and was previously the academy’s head of player development, will be assisted by experienced pair Chris Powell, 51, and Nigel Gibbs, 55, who have been named assistant head coaches.
Powell, who is also part of Gareth Southgate’s national team set-up, joined the academy in the summer, replacing Gibbs. Club legend Ledley King will remain in his role as first-team assistant, having been promoted to Mourinho’s staff last summer, while Michel Vorm, a popular figure in Mauricio Pochettino’s dressing room, returns to the club as goalkeeper coach. Announcing the appointments, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy expressed belief in a squad which had faced a steady trickle of public criticism from Mourinho before he was dismissed. “We have great belief in this squad of talented players,” Levy said. “We have a cup final and six Premier League games ahead of us and we shall now focus all our energies on achieving a strong finish to the season.”
Nagelsmann (left) is Levy’s leading choice as a long-term successor to Mourinho and the chairman is believed to have acted now to steal a march on European champions Bayern, whose coach Hansi Flick is leaving at the end of the season.
Nagelsmann is thought to be interested in managing in the Premier League, while Leipzig would be more open to negotiating with Tottenham than their Bundesliga rivals.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers is also admired by Levy, but would be expensive to hire and likely reluctant to work under the constraints at Spurs, which include deciding transfers by committee with Levy and recruitment chief Steve Hitchen. Levy has previously coveted Rafael Benitez, who is out of work after leaving Chinese club Dalian Professional, but is not thought to be pursuing the Spaniard or former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri, despite reports in Italy that he has been approached. England manager Southgate and Belgium counterpart Roberto Martinez have also been linked to the job but would be tied down until after this summer’s European Championship finals. Mason is due to face a difficult maiden press conference ahead of tomorrow’s League visit of Southampton, with Spurs one of the clubs facing a barrage of condemnation for signing up to the European Super League.