Ben Davies has admitted that having Ryan Mason as acting head coach can help get the Tottenham team "firing on all cylinders". Previously taking on the same role two years ago following Jose Mourinho's dismissal, the 31-year-old is now back in the hotseat after Cristian Stellini was sacked after the 6-1 humiliation at Newcastle United.
Achieving four points from a possible nine in his first three games in charge, Mason has come in for plenty of praise for his tactics and also the attacking football they displayed against Manchester United and Liverpool. Although Spurs didn't win either of those games, they had the chances to do so and on another day may have picked up maximum points from both.
Speaking in the matchday programme ahead of last Saturday's home match against Crystal Palace, Davies was quizzed about Mason and gave his verdict on his former teammate. Admitting that the acting boss gets the team going with intensity, the left-sided player also revealed that the team "really want to work hard for him" and "show how much it means to us all".
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"It's frustrating when you pick up injuries," said the Wales international on recently making his return from injury. "l just want to be involved to help the team as much as l can, so it was important to get the first game under my belt. We have an important run-in to finish our season as best we can, so I'm pleased to be back to help out the team.
"When you change managers, there's always a transition but Ryan is a good manager. He has our respect from being here as a player and coach before, so you really want to work hard for him and give your all to show how much it means to us all.
"Having someone like him, who knows the club inside out, can help get us firing on all cylinders. We had a real wake-up call against Newcastle, and we can't keep starting games like we are. Ryan gets the team going with intensity, but we have let him down, especially in the first half against Liverpool.
"Our target is still top four, but we know were making it difficult for ourselves, so the aim is to win every game from here on in. We owe it to Ryan, to the fans and the club to put together a good run to finish as high as we can.
"There is a lot of fight in this team. When results don't go your way it's incredibly disappointing but whatever happened in the past has happened. There are four games to go and we have to give it our all which begins today with Palace."
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