Ryan Mason hoping debut victory can unite Tottenham again

Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Ryan Mason has stated that he hopes Wednesday's 2-1 win over Southampton can bring the club back together and keep them focused until the end of the season.

After a bitterly disappointing first half, Spurs levelled things up on the hour mark through an excellent curling effort from Gareth Bale, and they snatched all three points when Son Heung-min fired home from the penalty spot in injury time.

It was hardly a vintage performance from Spurs, but Mason was simply delighted to get out with a victory to restore some positivity to the club after a tumultuous few days which saw Jose Mourinho sacked and fans protesting against chairman Daniel Levy for his involvement in the Super League.

"First of all the feeling is a massive relief," he told Sky Sports News. "It's been a whirlwind the last two or three days but thankfully we got the win and most importantly I felt second half we were outstanding.

"The performance, the commitment, the energy was brilliant because I thought in the first half, we found it very difficult.

"It was quite tough to get out and they were very good. They created some chances. Hugo (Lloris) pulled off two world-class saves for us but I thought as the game wore on, we gained control of it and I thought there was only one team that was going to win the match."

Mason was also asked about the events of the past few days, including the protests and Super League debacle, but he was simply keen to move on and start focusing on Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.

"First of all I can't have an opinion [on the protests] because I wasn't aware of that, we didn't see it from the coach so I can't comment on that," he said.

"But the most important thing is to create a good energy around the place. Obviously when you are winning matches that does help, but more importantly the performance in the second half is where we want it to be. Thankfully we have got the win and we can look forward to tomorrow now.

"I'll be honest, I said this all along, I really can't have an opinion on it, because in the last 48 hours, I'm sure you can respect the fact that my mind, my energy has been fully involved in this game, in preparing for this game.

"And likewise now the game's done I'll enjoy it for a few moments, but my energy is on training tomorrow and preparing the team for the weekend. I'll be honest, the outside noise I've completely shut out, and my full focus is on preparing the group of players to win football matches."

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