Mason sends defiant message to Tottenham fans and makes promise for Man United clash

Spurs were inflicted with their biggest defeat since 2013 at St James' Park, conceding a shocking five goals in the first 21 minutes of action.

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In the aftermath, interim coach Cristian Stellini was sacked and replaced by Mason, whose first job is a home Premier League meeting with Manchester United.

Mason has previously led the team before on an interim basis and wants to see a response from his players again in a tough situation.

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"[We need] a reaction, absolutely a reaction," he said. "Sunday was disappointing for us.

"I would hope and expect a reaction from not only the players but everyone in the building and everyone involved in the club as well."

He added: "As a professional when you have a result like we did you expect a reaction.

"Honestly, I think that that takes care of itself as we were hurting but ultimately that is a couple of days now and our focus is on Thursday and we believe that we can get a positive result."

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Mason, who also played for Spurs during his career, previously coached the team following Jose Mourinho's departure in 2021.

When asked if he's prepared to do it again, he responded: "I am ready. I don't doubt that.

"It is business. We have a really big game Thursday, another Sunday [against Liverpool at Anfield], so the focus on my behalf is to fully prepare for that.

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"I hurt when we lose like our players and fans and we know that in recent weeks or months, it hasn't been good enough for what we expected.

"Football can change quickly and I hope we can put in the performance to forget that."

Mason also discussed the club's decision to refund travelling fans for the away humiliation against Newcastle.

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"I'm pleased because our fans are important to us, we value them, we need them and we understand that relationship has waivered a little bit recently but there's no doubt that we need them and we want them on board and hopefully on Thursday they can feel us.

"Obviously [their support is] massive and it's our home and they will need to be with us but at the same time, we need to get them with us as well so that is our job as a group that we give them something to cheer about.

"I have been involved in this football club a long time and my belief is that our fans are amazing and one of the best in the world.

"We want to get them on board and we want to get them with us. The only way to do that is to put in performances that warrant that. We understand that and we know that. I don't think there'll be any doubt that they'll be with us on Thursday night."