Tottenham Hotspur should have placed Ryan Mason in interim charge instead of Cristian Stellini, according to Tim Sherwood.
The 54-year-old told Premier League Productions, via Optus Sport, that Mason would’ve been playing “with more adventure”.
Antonio Conte left Tottenham in March, and Stellini has taken the Spurs reins until the end of the season.
Many expected Mason to become interim manager, having done so when Jose Mourinho left in 2021.
However, Stellini stayed put, and the Spurs hierarchy made the decision to give him the job instead.
The Italian did well when covering for Conte when he was recovering from surgery.
However, Stellini is having a tougher time of it this time round.
Under the 48-year-old, Spurs have picked up four points from their last three games.
They also fell to a particularly disappointing 3-2 loss to relegation-battling Bournemouth last time out.
Tottenham made it 2-2 on 88 minutes through Arnaut Danjuma, only for Dango Ouattara to net an injury-time winner.
Sherwood, speaking on Premier League Productions, feels Stellini is too similar to Conte.
He thinks Mason would’ve been the better choice.
“Tottenham seem to win the big games, but they’re without a manager,” he said.
“Stellini is in there as the interim manager, I can’t understand why he is still there.
“He’s a Conte man, they’re still playing the same way.
“Ryan Mason would’ve tweaked it and he would’ve took care of it. He would’ve played with more adventure.”
‘I’m a little bit surprised’
Rafael van der Vaart has also questioned Tottenham’s decision to put Stellini in charge instead of Mason.
“It’s always like this,” he told BBC Sport earlier this month.
“They have a contract and when the club gives you the chance to take the job, of course he wants it.
“I’m a little bit surprised because Ryan Mason took the job a few years ago and has much more experience, I think.
“The players know him, he knows the club perfectly and I really thought they would go for that choice.”
Our view
You can understand Tottenham’s logic for giving the caretaker role to Stellini.
Spurs seemed keen on balancing a need for change with a sense of continuity and stability.
As per The Athletic, Stellini is popular with the players and “not volatile like Conte is”.
Similar tactics to Conte should’ve meant less upheaval for the players, in theory.
However, things haven’t really gone to plan so far under Stellini.
Mason would no doubt have been a good choice for Tottenham too.
The players love him, including Harry Kane, who has called him his “best mate” in the past.
And he didn’t do a bad job when he took charge two years ago.
Nonetheless, it’s difficult to imagine Spurs swapping Stellini with Mason now.
Put simply, it would make the club seem like they don’t really know what they’re doing.
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