Ryan's five-point preview - Southampton
Ryan Mason takes charge of the team for the first time in his role as Interim Head Coach when we step out against Southampton in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening (6pm).
In doing so, he will become the youngest ever manager/Head Coach of any Premier League game at the age of 29 years, 312 days.
What an incredible journey from the youngster who first walked into our Academy as a schoolboy aged eight in 1999, graduated and made his debut aged 17 in 2008, before going on to play 70 times for us, including starting the 2015 League Cup Final, and proudly captaining the side in 2016.
It's an incredible story, but as he told us, fairytales can wait - his sole focus is Southampton...
1 - Team news and training
Ryan told us that Matt Doherty is back, Harry Kane is obviously a doubt and Ben Davies remains out, but how had his first couple of training sessions gone?
Ryan: “It’s been good. It all happened very quickly, but they are good, professional guys. I have personal relationships with them from my playing days. They are a good group, they want to work and the last two days have been very positive.”
2 - The challenge ahead...
Ryan played at the top level for a number of years, was capped by England and has coached at various youth levels, including the UEFA Youth League - how did the challenge of preparing a team for a Premier League match compare?
Ryan: “It’s massive. I had it with the Under-18s, the Under-19s in Europe, the Under-23s as well, but the Premier League is the best league in the world. We have some exceptional players and I want to give them the confidence to go out there and have a positive game. That’s the job in hand at the moment, tomorrow’s (Wednesday's) match. It has been for the last 24 hours or so. They are a good side, very aggressive and it will be a difficult game, but we feel confident in ourselves that we can get a positive result, especially at home.”
3 - The Saints
What does Ryan expect from Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team this evening?
Ryan: “We’re going to have to compete, they are very brave, aggressive in certain actions but the most important thing for us is to focus on ourselves, to compete, to run, to fight and also feel like we have the freedom to go and express ourselves as well. That’s very important for the group.”
4 - Seven up
We’ve seven matches left, including the Carabao Cup Final against City on Sunday - plenty to play for?
Ryan: “Yes, there is, but my mind is solely focussed on tomorrow’s (Wednesday’s) match. That’s the most important thing, to get the group ready and prepared for a very difficult task of playing Southampton.”
5 - Finally...
Academy at eight, debut at 17, 70 appearances, having to recover from a serious head injury that ended his playing career at 26, back to Spurs as coach in the Academy, now Interim Head Coach - how did he sum it all up?
Ryan: “It’s crazy story, and I’m sure one day I’ll look back on it and smile, but at the moment, when you are in that circle, you can’t really think like that. Obviously, it’s a massive, massive honour. I love the Club and I think the fans, everyone associated with the Club knows how much it means to me. I’m looking forward to hopefully helping the Club.”