Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

New Tottenham stadium receives glowing early review from John McDermott: 'It looks unbelievable!'

Tottenham development chief John McDermott has told Spurs' youngsters to savour the moment as they prepare to step into a new era at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs are hoping to open their new 62,000-seater stadium against Crystal Palace on April 3, but need to get through two test events in order to receive the relevant safety certificates from Haringey Council.

The first one will see their Under-18s side take on Southampton in front of 30,000 people, with the second coming next Saturday when a Legends team take on Inter Milan.

All being well their first competitive game will then be against Palace four days later in a rearranged Premier League match.

Tottenham's U-18s will be managed on Sunday by former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason and McDermott, the club’s head of player coaching and development.

McDermott has previewed the game, telling Tottenham's website: "We trained this morning and now the boys have come down to see the bowl and pitch.

"To come here and see this now, it's unbelievable. The colours, the space, the feel.

"It's going to be absolutely brilliant for these young players to be able to come here to see this and have the honour and privilege of being the first players to play here. It's indescribable really."

While the match is a test event for the stadium itself, it remains a competitive fixture for Spurs' U18s as they battle Arsenal for the title.

McDermott added: "It's a fantastic opportunity for some of the boys to play on the biggest stage of their lives.

"Obviously there are other things as well around making sure everything functions and works here, and that the operations goes well, but for us, the in-depth concentration is around playing well against Southampton.

"I just can't wait!"

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.