Tottenham Hotspur sacked Cristian Stellini and reappoints Ryan Mason as interim head coach following disastrous loss to Newcastle United..

2023-04-25 11:05

Tottenham Hotspur sacked Cristian Stellini and reappoints Ryan Mason as interim head coach following disastrous loss to Newcastle United..




Following Tottenham Hotspur's 1-6 heavy away defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League, the club announced on its official website on Monday that the club's former Italian interim coach Cristian Stellini had being sacked, the club's former caretaker manager, ex-England international midfielder Ryan Mason will take over as iterim head coach until the end of the season.


The news was announced by Spurs' chariman, Daniel Levy himself, through a handwritten official statement. The statement also added that Stellini and his original Italian assistant coaching staff will also be sacked immediately. Spurs' former legendary captain, former England international center-back Ledley King and former legendary England international center forward, Jermain Defoe will assist Mason as interim assistant coaches should everything goes well.


Levy wrote in an official statement: "Dear all, Sunday's performance against Newcastle United is completely unacceptable. Its result is devastating and frustrating. We can explore many reasons why this happened, and I, the board, the coaches and the players all have to take collective responsibility and ultimately the blame rests with me."


“Cristian will be leaving his current position along with his coaching staff. Cristian stepped in at a difficult time in our season and I would like to thank him and his coaching staff for their professionalism during such a challenging time. I would also wish them all the best in their future and that everything would goes well for him and his staff."


"Ryan Mason will take over as head coach immediately. Ryan knows the club and the players very well. We will further update his coaching staff in due course."


“I met the Players Committee today and the team is determined to pull together to ensure the best possible result this season. We all know we need to deliver a performance that will earn you your amazing support. Come on You Spurs! Daniel"


The 48-year-old Stellini played for Novara, SPAL, Modena, Genoa, Bari and other clubs as a defender. After retiring in 2010, Stellini became an assistant of his compatriot Antonio Conte, where he worked with him at Siena, Juventus, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur.


In February of this year, Conte was admitted to the hospital due to severe abdominal pain and underwent cholecystectomy. During this period, as Conte's assistant, Stellini led the club to a small win over defending champion Manchester City. When he returned to the club later however, Tottenham lost to AC Milan, Leicester City and Sheffield United one after another. In addition to being eliminated from the Champions League and the FA Cup, it also allowed Liverpool, which had been extremely poor throughout the season, had the opportunity to close in on its top four position.


In mid-March, after Conte was sacked, Stellini took over the position of interim head coach. However, after failing to win across the three consecutive games, and even fell behind 0-5 after the first 21 minutes of the game against Newcastle United, as a result, the latter finally paid the price of being dismissed.


The 31-year-old Ryan Mason is an English midfielder who came through Spurs' youth academy. He once made his Three Lions debut in the international friendly match against Italy on March 31, 2015. It was also the only time that he had played for the England national team.


On August 30, 2016, Mason joined Hull City for £13 million. However, due to a serious head injury in the match against Chelsea on January 22, 2017, Mason's playing career was forced to end early.


After retiring, Mason returned to coach Spurs in 2018 as a coach of the youth academy. Later, after renowned Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho was sacked, Mason was briefly appointed as caretaker manager in April 2021, where he led the club to the English League Cup final that year, and then he was promoted to the first-team as an assistant coach.


It is worth mentioning that Mason also assisted Stellini as an assistant coach when Conte was admitted to the hospital for surgery in February. He was one of the biggest contributors to the club's narrow victory over Manchester City in the Premier League.