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.
News emerged on Friday evening that former Bayern Munich coach Nagelsmann is not being considered as a candidate for Spurs' vacant managerial post and the club continue to insist that they had not met with the German and do not intend to despite reports from both home and abroad.
One man trying to make his case to be considered as a serious candidate for the role is 31-year-old caretaker boss Mason. When asked whether he could draw hope from Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, who was 31 when he first became manager of Bournemouth, the young Spurs acting coach also pointed out another Englishman impressing in the Championship this season despite still being in his thirties.
READ MORE: Every word Ryan Mason said on Harry Kane's views on Tottenham's problems and Kulusevski future
"I've always said I'm ready. I'm ready for this moment. I feel like I can help the club," said Mason. "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.
"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," said the young coach.
"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."
He added: "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.
"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," he said.
"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.
"That’s an absolute myth. I’ve never heard that, but if you’re saying that, it’s not true," he said. "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, he 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.
"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," he said. "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."
With Hugo Lloris out injured for the rest of the season, Kane has taken on the captaincy but Mason feels the striker has always been a captain within the team and the striker's recent comments show that.
"I think it doesn’t really matter if you have the armband on your arm to be honest, for me. If you’re a captain, you’re a captain. If you’re a leader, you’re a leader regardless of the band on your arm," he explained. "We know Harry is one of our leaders and has been one of our leaders for a very, very long time.
"We see he has the armband for England and is the official captain, but in terms of this place he’s always felt like a captain along with Hugo and along with a couple of other players as well. I think it’s important for Harry to feel that because I think his performances this season have been of a standard that I’m not sure he’s reached yet.
"I think they’ve been incredible, not just goals but the overall performances throughout the season have been remarkable for this football club.
"But then also 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. We feel good about Harry."
Some fans have excitedly read into Kane speaking about the future and the changes needed as evidence that the club's all-time top goalscorer might be sticking around to see that process through despite his contract situation.
"It’s good. I back him. I think what he said is right," said Mason. "That’s one thing I think you can probably speak about the future in terms of creating a culture, standards, an environment that’s right for the football club.
“Fans should be excited about Harry Kane. They should be excited to watch him play now because, honestly I say it all the time, we have a special player with us and we need to appreciate him because he’s a top, top, top player.
“Our focus, I’ll say it again, is until the end of the season. I would be very, very naïve and I don’t think I’m in a position to start commenting on pre-season and next season because obviously that’s an area that’s a little bit uncertain at the moment in terms of the managerial position."
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