Ryan Mason has a Tottenham team “willing to fight” for their place in the upper echelons of the Premier League after a comeback draw with Manchester United.
Goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min helped the interim boss break the club’s losing streak in the first game in charge after replacing Cristian Stellini
Mason is no stranger to the Spurs hot seat, having been caretaker following Jose Mourinho’s exit two years ago, during which he was in charge for the EFL Cup final.
But after a 6-1 loss to Newcastle United last time out, Mason was delighted to get a response from his side that underlines their desire.
“In football, you can win, lose or draw but the most important [thing] is that we react together,” he told BT Sport. “I have a team that’s willing to fight.
“I thought in the second half, we were outstanding [with] the character we showed after last Sunday. I hope the fans can see that we were a team today.
“Those players in there, I know I’ve got men who when they pull together, they’re a very strong team. That’s my job, to inspire them and make sure we act as a team.”
Goalscorer Son, who was supplied for his point-clinching finish by regular partner Harry Kane, suggested Spurs’ performance was born out of frustration over recent failings.
“I thought we didn’t deserve to be 2-0 down in the first half,” he added. “We played quite well, we had the chances to score. But we weren’t clinical enough.
“We didn’t want to let the fans down, we wanted to give everything and that was the dressing room speech. We couldn’t let the game go. We were really angry about it.
“Football is all about the fans. The last week was unacceptable, and we didn’t want to repeat that. With them, we really appreciated their support. They were fighting with us.”