Spurs fans now truly excited for the EFL final after Mourinho's exit

Tottenham fans have their mojo back as the Ryan Mason era starts with a bang… and they now have not only hope, but a reason to care ahead of their Carabao Cup final clash with Manchester City on Sunday

  • Tottenham fans are now excited to watch again with Ryan Mason at the helm
  • They play Manchester City in the final of the Carabao Cup on Sunday afternoon 
  • Jose Mourinho was sacked on Monday, just six days ahead of the crucial clash
  • Spurs claimed a 2-1 win over Southampton on Wednesday in Mason’s first game

It has been a turbulent season for Tottenham fans, who have seen their club slide from the head of the Premier League table to a side struggling in the race for the top-four almost in the blink of an eye. 

With Jose Mourinho at the helm, opting for a defensive approach that ultimately proved futile with Tottenham giving up the joint-most points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, the ‘To Dare Is To Do’ mantra that lives in the DNA of the club was seemingly evaporating. 

And with the news that they were to become a founding member of the European Super League, a proposal that received fierce backlash from fans, pundits, players and managers alike, the club were on the precipice of a genuine identity crisis. 

Ryan Mason was delighted by Tottenham’s attitude in their crucial 2-1 win over Southampton

Jose Mourinho was sacked on Monday with Tottenham in seventh place in the Premier League

Though Tottenham swiftly withdrew their status as a Super League member, alongside the remaining five sides in the Premier League ‘Big Six’, the chairman and owner have not yet been forgiven, with protesters gathering outside of the stadium on Wednesday night.  

But with fan-favourite Ryan Mason appointed Interim Head Coach until the season and winning his first match in charge against Southampton  – in a game where Tottenham came from behind to win in the Premier League for the first time since October – there has been a fresh burst of life among the supporters.  

With Tottenham getting back to winning ways, the focus now quickly turns to Sunday and the Carabao Cup final. 

Their opponents City have been in imperious form this season, but with defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, and with a Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain to play in France just three days later, perhaps the final is coming at the worst possible time for them. 

And with Mason now in charge for Tottenham’s first final since 2015 – when the Englishman started as they fell 2-0 to Mourinho’s Chelsea in the Carabao Cup – the fans are certainly optimistic. 

Both before and after the Southampton game, Tottenham fans expressed their delight on Twitter, with many displaying renewed hope ahead of Sunday’s fixture. 

One fan said: ‘I really haven’t felt this good about Tottenham in a long time. I get that it was Southampton and that we won cause of a penalty but there was a different feel to this team today especially in that second half. I’m excited for what’s to come this Sunday.’

Another wrote: ‘For the first time in a while I’m excited to watch Spurs again. Feels like the bad energy around the club has been lifted with events over the past 48 hours. Feels like we’ve got our Tottenham back. Ryan Mason in the dugout. Nobody left out because of one bad game. Up the Spurs.’

Gareth Bale scored a stunning goal on his return to the starting lineup in the Southampton win

A major positive for Tottenham against Southampton was the display of Gareth Bale, who was awarded Man of the Match after scoring a sublime curling effort to draw his side level. 

The Welshman has shown form in patches since making his loan return, particularly in a run of games that ended with an emphatic double in their 4-1 win over Crystal Palace in March, where he scored his sixth goal in as many matches. 

Bale then put in a poor 45 minutes in Tottenham’s north London derby defeat to Arsenal, and he hadn’t started since. Mason brought him straight back into the side, however, and the forward was clearly delighted by his side’s attacking display. 

Asked how Tottenham can improve after Mourinho’s exit, Bale told Sky Sports: ‘Maybe just to be on the front foot a bit more. We want to attack, we’re a big club, we want to attack and we did that today.’

He added: ‘We had a good chat at half-time and (discussed) a few things we could improve slightly. The second-half we did that, we controlled the game in the second half and deserved it.’ 

Harry Kane limped off with an ankle injury in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Everton last week

Meanwhile, in yet further good news for Tottenham fans, Mason refused to rule Harry Kane out of Sunday’s final, after he suffered a worrying looking ankle injury against Everton. 

‘With Harry it is just about taking it each day as it comes,’ Mason said. ‘We know he is doing absolutely everything he can to be back out on the football pitch.

‘On Wednesday he wasn’t but hopefully by the end of the week we will know about bit more about that.’




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