football | Wednesday, April 26, 2023 1:59 PM (Revised at: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 2:00 PM)

Former United Defenders Parker and Silvestre preview Tottenham vs. Manchester United Race

Devang Prasad

Sunday was an abysmal day for anyone associated with Tottenham Hotspur. Their 6-1 defeat to top-four contenders Newcastle at St James’ Park means the gap between them and Newcastle and Manchester United stands at six points, having played more games. Daniel Levy quickly reacted by sacking caretaker manager Cristian Stellini.

Ryan Mason steps in to fill the void for the remaining league fixtures, which start off with a home fixture against Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United. United will be buoyant after their FA Cup semi-final victory over Brighton.

We caught up with former United defenders Paul Parker and Mikael Silvestre to preview Thursday evening’s must-win clash for both sides.

In this article:

If United stop Kane, they stop Spurs
Stellini mirroring Conte ball
Mason steps in for the final stretch
Tottenham need a permanent manager

If United stop Kane, they stop Spurs

Spurs will be looking for an immediate bounce-back following their collapse against Newcastle United on Sunday. Captain Harry Kane is expected to lead Tottenham’s response. Despite a topsy-turvy season for the North London club, Kane has scored 24 goals in 32 Premier League games so far in the 2022/23 season. He will be looking to add to that tally, but Parker feels as though a centre-back partnership of Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw has the capability of shutting down Kane and, in turn, shutting down Spurs.

“To be honest, the only thing you have to do to stop Harry Kane is to stay awake. He is not going to worry you with hard work. If Erik ten Hag is going with Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof against Tottenham, I don’t see any reason to fear Harry Kane.”

“Of course, if Harry Maguire is playing, then Harry Kane knows that he can take advantage of that but I don’t expect him to play.”

Stellini mirroring Conte ball

Stellini was sacked on Monday evening with many surprised the Italian was given the job in the first instance due to this association with former manager Antonio Conte having been his assistant manager. Parker is disappointed Spurs hadn’t waited an extra game to sack Stellini as he saw no difference in the football Tottenham had played since taking over.

“It’s a shame for Man United that Tottenham sacked Christian Stellini because he was just playing Conté football. He made no changes and I think that Ryan Mason is going to do that.”

“I almost think that the caretaker was wearing an earbud just so Antonio Conté could tell him what to do and make sure that Spurs would be poor and boring like usual.”

Mason steps in for the final stretch

Ryan Mason now takes over for the remainder of the season, having initially been overlooked by chairman Daniel Levy. Parker expects Mason to make changes from the Conte/Stellini era as they look to close the gap on the top four.

“I’m sure that Ryan Mason will make changes. So, there is going to be more energy about them against Man United, otherwise Ryan Mason will be in trouble and he doesn’t want to ruin his Tottenham legacy.”

“But I would still expect Man United to win the game because Tottenham is a poor team. They don’t have the players that people would associate with them. They don’t have any players with quality, no technical players and no players with improvisation and creativity.”

“Tottenham is known for having that creativity. Christian Eriksen was the symbol of their rise when he arrived there but it’s completely gone now. There is nothing about that club anymore that makes me consider them as a great team or a huge club.”

Tottenham need a permanent manager

Ahead of Thursday’s clash, we also caught up with former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre. Silvestre believes that Tottenham are currently underachieving with the quality of the players at the club’s disposal. He would like to see Levy appoint a permanent manager who is given the time and opportunity to rebuild Tottenham’s philosophy and squad for next season.

“Tottenham need to appoint a manager that can get them back on track.”

“They have to forget that Newcastle defeat. It’s a one off.”

“They have good players in that squad but the belief is gone.”

“After Conte left it’s been a difficult moment for them and the fans are disappointed with the decisions and the way things are going.”

“The sooner they find a manager to build a programme, a squad and reshape things for next season.”