Defender reveals he cried with regret after leaving Tottenham

Michael Dawson has opened up on the circumstances that led to his exit from Tottenham Hotspur and the emotions that he was going through when he got relegated in his first season at Hull City after swapping Spurs for the Tigers.

Michael Dawson was a fan favourite at Tottenham

Dawson might not have been the most talented player that Spurs have had in the Premier League era, but he was undoubtedly one of the most committed, always wearing his heart on his sleeve.

That is why the centre-back, who made 236 appearances across his nine years at Spurs, was loved by the Tottenham faithful.

For a number of years, he deputised as captain when Ledley King was not available, before being handed the armband permanently after King’s retirement in 2012.

Dawson opens up on emotions after Spurs exit

The Englishman eventually decided to depart Tottenham in 2014 after the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton.

The former Spurs captain has now revealed that he had a chance to stay at the Lilywhites, but he chose to join Hull since he was desperate to play regularly.

Dawson said on The Football Museum podcast: “And when I made the move, we got relegated in my first season, one of the lowest points in my career.

“Because I could quite easily have stayed at Spurs, but I love playing football, only thinking ‘Why have I made this decision we’ve got relegated?’ and 12 months later you think, are you ever going to get back to the Premier League?

“But we did and it was an incredible day, an incredible night and just walking up those steps and lifting and thinking, thankfully, we’re going to be going back to play Spurs, play Man United, play Arsenal, play Manchester City, play all these big teams.”

When asked if the thought of never playing in the Premier League seriously went through his head, Dawson responded: “Yeah, I cried. No shame in that. I actually shed a tear.

“You’re thinking, wow, what have I done? You make decisions in your life. Like I’ve said earlier, we haven’t got a crystal ball. I had two years left on my Spurs contract. You know, they wanted to bring a player in. And I love playing football.

“And this is what I speak about players. Your career is short. And you look, I went on to play that season, 30 odd games in the Premier League. We got relegated. And if I could have turned back time, of course, I would have gone back. Why would I want to get relegated?”

Dawson will always remain a Tottenham legend

Some supporters are very cautious about using the ‘legend’ tag on players who were not world-class performers or ones who do not have medals to show for their time at the club.

However, what is far more important than those things is the way the players made the fans feel and the memories that they gave them.

On that count, Dawson undoubtedly counts as a Tottenham legend, as not only was he a fantastic leader and a great person to have in the dressing room, but he bled white.

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