Can Tottenham salvage season now that Stellini is gone?

Is it too late for Tottenham to salvage anything in the final six matches after another disastrous experiment came to an abject and inevitable end with Cristian Stellini’s sacking?

In truth, the 6-1 drubbing at Newcastle ended way more than Stellini’s horrifying stint as interim manager.

Not only did the humiliating defeat all but end Tottenham’s top-four hopes, but it also shined a harsh light on the players’ inexcusable readiness to roll over and play dead.

Ryan Mason will take charge for the final six matches, as he did after Jose Mourinho was sacked just six days before Spurs’ Carabao Cup final defeat in 2021.

The latest interim manager to take charge is highly respected by most of the locker room, which should, in theory, galvanize the troops, at least temporarily.

However, the mood is so sour at Hotspur Way that Tottenham may have missed their chance to receive the type of new-manager resurgence most other clubs experience.

Either way, it feels like it’s again too little too late. Stellini is far from culpable for everything that has transpired since Antonio Conte’s departure, but he certainly didn’t make matters any better.

The blame lies squarely on Daniel Levy’s shoulders, who is the catalyst for all of Spurs’ on-field woes in recent years, all of which has culminated in the current disarray.

Tottenham is six points adrift of Manchester United and Newcastle, both of whom have matches in hand.

United has two additional matches to play, while Newcastle has one more than Spurs. So don’t be surprised to see Tottenham recover against United on Thursday in remarkable fashion.

Nobody likes being humiliated, and Mason’s appointment should buoy Spurs for the one-off encounter at home.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Spurs will finish outside the top four and face participation in next season’s Europa League or, even worse, the dreaded Conference League.

For all of the wrong reasons, it’s a season Tottenham supporters won’t soon forget. It has polarized the fanbase more than ever, with widespread in-fighting as a primary byproduct.

Sufficed it to say, it’s one of the most challenging times to be a Tottenham supporter. Winning a trophy has never looked more farfetched, and Harry Kane will almost invariably depart for pastures anew.

And who can blame him?

The piece de resistance might see Mauricio Pochettino land the Chelsea manager job. Even eternal optimists will struggle to find the silver lining in the current ominous maelstrom in which Levy has ensnared the club he purportedly loves.