(Reuters) -Tottenham Hotspur’s players will reimburse the club’s supporters who paid for tickets for their 6-1 thrashing by Newcastle United at St James’ Park over the weekend, the north London club said on Tuesday.
The players also apologised for their performance and said they would do everything to make a comeback as they fight for a top-four finish with six games left in the Premier League.
The defeat also led to Spurs sacking interim coach Cristian Stellini on Monday, with Ryan Mason taking over head coach duties until they find a replacement.
“As a squad, we understand your frustration, your anger. It wasn’t good enough. We know words aren’t enough in situations like this but believe us, a defeat like this hurts,” Spurs’ players said in a statement.
“We appreciate your support, home and away, and with this in mind, we would like to reimburse fans with the cost of their match tickets from St James’ Park.
“We know this does not change what happened on Sunday and we will give everything to put things right against Manchester United on Thursday evening when, again, your support will mean everything to us.”
Spurs are fifth in the standings with 53 points, six points off fourth-placed United but having played two games more.
Spurs also launched a new Fan Advisory Board (FAB) to ensure the fanbase is informed of the club’s decision-making.
The FAB will meet four times a year, with one of its representatives attending the club’s board meetings four times a year, while working groups will be created to focus on supporter issues.
In June last year, English top-flight clubs agreed on a plan to improve the league’s “collective offer for fans”, which included the introduction of Fan Advisory Boards.
“The FAB’s remit will cover a wide range of off-field topics such as the club’s strategic vision and objectives, off-pitch performance updates, priorities and plans, operational matchday issues… stadium issues and plans,” Spurs said.
“The first FAB meeting is expected to take place in July.”
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
