Ben Davies has praised Ryan Mason’s positive influence on the Tottenham squad after picking up his first win of his second spell as interim manager.
Spurs beat Crystal Palace 1-0 after Mason tweaked the team’s shape from the 3-4-3 commonly used by Antonio Conte, instead switching to 4-4-2.
“It’s something we’re all well aware of and one that we needed for a long time,” Davies said.
“It’s a good start for us and hopefully we can kick on for the final games now.
“It’s not the easiest situation to come into [for Mason]. We’ve got a limited amount of games so it’s hard for him to come in and completely change things and do it his own way.
“But there’s been a clear message that we need to be as good as we can with the ball and tighten up without it.
“It’s pretty basic but that’s the way we’ve been training and working. Ryan’s instilled that belief in us that we’re able to do that.”
Victory means Spurs are currently sixth in the Premier League and on course for European qualification.
Davies said: “Our aspiration is to play European football and be involved in as many competitions as we can.
“We have the squad, we have the number of players, so it’s probably necessary that we are.
“Our aim is to go as far as we can in every competition. Any European competition is important for us.”
(BBC Sport)
