Daws on the Tour

Michael Dawson was quick to praise the fans as he reflected on another successful Tour of North America.

We played in front of full houses in Seattle, Toronto and Chicago with our supporters out in force to see us take on MLS teams Sounders, Toronto FC and Fire.

We drew 3-3 against Clint Dempsey’s high-flying Sounders, beat Jermain Defoe’s Toronto 3-2 and finished the Tour with a 2-0 win against Fire on Saturday.

The team also enjoyed Open Training sessions in all three cities, packed out Supporters Evenings and we were out and about in the local communities with a host of events alongside our Global Coaching team, who passed on the Spurs philosophy to over 1,000 local kids.

“I said before the Tour that North America is a great place to go and it was fantastic again,” said skipper Michael.

“We’ve a massive following in the States and Canada and you could see that in Seattle, Toronto and Chicago. The support was incredible, not least the noise from the fans in Chicago on Saturday!

“It’s been entertaining to see different places. Fish throwing in Seattle was a new experience for me and I managed to catch one!

“We’ve had two wins and draw but it’s not about the results, it’s about our fitness and working to the new system the gaffer wants to play.

“Overall it’s been what you’d expect, hard work, tough games and great to see the fans again. Now it’s on to Helsinki.”

Our next match takes us to Finland and an intriguing clash against Scottish Premier League champions Celtic on Saturday.

We then have a high-profile home friendly against German giants FC Schalke at the Lane on Saturday week, August 9 before the big one, our Premier League opener at West Ham on Saturday, August 16.