For Ryan Mason professionalism comes before his pals at Tottenham - ask Eric Dier.
The influential England star was dropped for last week’s win over Crystal Palace. But interim boss Mason continues to retain the respect of the Spurs squad as he bids to keep their faint top four hopes alive.
Internet whispers persist among some fans that he is showing preferential treatment to his mates but Mason has pointedly dismissed it.
“That’s an absolute myth,” he said. “I’ve never heard that. But if you’re saying that, it’s not true. My job is to pick a team that I feel is best capable of winning a football match.
“It’s not a case of having friends. That was clear two years ago [when he was also interim boss] and that’s clear now.
“I’m in a position where I need to do a job to the best of our abilities with my coaching team. We’re professionals so every decision we make is in the best interests of the team and the football club.”
Spurs are on an eight-game winless away streak in all competitions, their worst run for 23 years. It remains to be seen whether Dier is restored to the side for their trip to Aston Villa. But Mason maintained the versatile defender, who can also play in midfield, buys into the values with which he intends to go back to basics.
“Eric is a professional and he’s responded the way I expected him to. The way I would expect any one of the squad players to respond in a professional manner.
“And understand that sometimes you have to make difficult decisions for the team.
“He came on as a late substitute and contributed to the three points. He had an important role in a couple of set pieces and was ready to help the team, as I expected.”
Harry Kane is aiming to continue his stunning run of scoring in nine of his last 11 games for club and country.
The England captain spoke in midweek about Spurs needing to recapture the values of the period under Mauricio Pochettino and Mason, who reiterated his desire to take the job full time, agreed. Meanwhile, Spurs have ruled out appointing Julian Nagelsmann as new manager.
“I back him,” Mason said. “I think what he said is right.
“That’s one thing I think you can probably speak about in terms of the future - creating a culture, standards, an environment that’s right for the football club.
“Fans should be excited about Harry Kane. They should be excited to watch him play now because, honestly I say it all the time, we have a special player with us and we need to appreciate him because he’s a top, top, top player.”
