Ryan Mason insists Tottenham will have to wait to decide their transfer strategy until they have a new sporting director and permanent manager in place.
Mason has been Spurs’ caretaker boss since Cristian Stellini was sacked from the same role following last month’s 6-1 humbling at the hands of Newcastle. Stellini, formerly assistant manager, had been put in charge after Antonio Conte’s dramatic exit from the club in late March. In the same week, managing director Fabio Paritici had his Italian football ban imposed worldwide, leading to his resignation.
Spurs have struggled throughout this season, conceding 62 goals in the Premier League and failing to win away from home in all competitions since January.
They can still seal a Europa Conference League berth on the final day if they better Aston Villa’s result and match Brentford’s. But they visit a Leeds side in desperate need of a win to give them any chance of avoiding the drop in their last game of the season.
“We have a lot of players on loan and there’s a lot of decisions to make,” Mason admitted. “First and foremost we have a lot of decisions to make in our first-team.
“But you can’t do transfer business without a manager. We need an idea of what we’re going to do and ultimately recruit players like that.”
Securing a place in European competition’s third tier is out of Spurs’ hands on the final day, and Mason admitted European football is a big pull to potential signings in the summer.
On the prospect of missing out to Villa or Brentford on that score, Mason said: “Obviously it has its implications and it’s not where the football club want to be. It’s important for a club this size to be in Europe. The most important thing in or out of Europe is that there’s a plan and commitment.”
Conte infamously made grave criticisms of the culture at the north London club before ultimately leaving his post as manager by mutual consent.
Asked whether Conte will feel vindicated by watching Spurs continue to struggle since he left, Mason answered: “Possibly. The results before he left weren’t amazing.
“I don’t think the results dipped a huge amount. You could feel in the weeks leading into it that there was uncertainty, and it’s never good to have uncertainty. There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
Arne Slot had been heavily linked to Tottenham as their potential next manager, before revealing his intentions to stay at newly crowned Eredivisie champions Feyenoord earlier this week and signing a contract extension at the Dutch club until 2026.
When asked if Sprus remained an attractive proposition for a manager, Mason replied: “Absolutely, yes.
“It’s history. It’s a big club. Not just for managers and coaches… for staff members, players to feel the privilege of wearing the badge. If they don’t they shouldn’t be here.”
