“Wholly unacceptable”: Cristian Stellini sacked by Tottenham after Newcastle humiliation
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that interim manager Cristian Stellini has left his role, less than a month after he took over from Antonio Conte.
It’s been a period of turmoil for Tottenham both on and off the pitch which started with Conte blasting his players following a 3-3 draw with Southampton just before the international break. Tottenham led 3-1 with just over 15 minutes to go in that game but ended up drawing, conceding an injury-time equaliser from the penalty spot.
Conte also had a go at the board and how the club was run, pulling no punches as he warned of Tottenham’s lack of ambition. Bizarrely, it took Tottenham a little while before they finally pulled the trigger, replacing Conte with his assistant Stellini.
Stellini had taken charge of Tottenham before, stepping in for Conte as he was away due to illness, as led the club to victory over Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Upon the return from the international break, Tottenham went unbeaten in their first two matches under Stellini, first drawing with Everton before beating in-form Brighton. However, that was where the positivity ended.
The first falter came at home to Bournemouth, as Tottenham gave up an early lead to eventually lose 3-2 to the relegation-battlers, conceding an injury-time winner from Dango Outtara after Arnaut Danjuma thought he had secured at least a point for the hosts. Then, on Sunday, Tottenham were pulled apart by Newcastle United.
Tottenham traveled to St James’ Park knowing victory would put them be a good step towards finishing in the top four, moving them level on points with Newcastle albeit having played a game more. They would have also watched Aston Villa beat Newcastle 3-0 the week before, knowing the Magpies do have vulnerabilities.
However, after just 20 minutes of the match, Tottenham were 5-0 down and fans were already making their exit for the long journey back to London. Tottenham eventually left with a 6-1 defeat, but it could have been so much worse had Newcastle not taken their foot off the gas. Some were predicting the heaviest defeat in Premier League history, and it wasn’t outside the realms of possibility.
Tottenham now sit six points outside the top four having played two games more than fourth-placed Manchester United and one more than Newcastle in third, leaving their Champions League hopes up in the air. The gap, as well as the performance on Sunday, led Daniel Levy to make a bold decision and sack the interim manager, replacing him with his assistant Ryan Mason.
“Sunday’s performance against Newcastle was wholly unacceptable,” Levy wrote in a statement published on Tottenham’s official website.
“It was devastating to see. We can look at many reasons why it happened and whilst myself, the board, the coaches and players must all take collective responsibility, ultimately the responsibility is mine.
“Cristian will leave his current role along with his coaching staff. Cristian stepped in at a difficult point in our season and I want to thank him for the professional manner in which he and his coaching staff have conducted themselves during such a challenging time. We wish him and his staff well.
“Ryan Mason will take over Head Coach duties with immediate effect. Ryan knows the Club and the players well. We shall update further on his coaching staff in due course.
“I met with the player committee today – the squad is determined to pull together to ensure the strongest possible finish to the season. We are all clear we need to deliver performances which earn your amazing support.”
This won’t be Ryan Mason’s first spell in charge of Tottenham, as he was also caretaker when Jose Mourinho was sacked towards the end of the 2020/21 season, winning four of his seven games in charge (though he did lose the EFL Cup final to Manchester City).
