Tottenham have had another whirlwind season, which will end with Spurs finishing outside the Champions League places, following a run of just two wins in eight since parting company with Antonio Conte.

We spoke with football.london journalist Rob Guest to get his thoughts on Spurs' campaign and Saturday's encounter in north London.

The 2022/23 season has been a tumultuous season for Tottenham and they sit seventh as it stands, with two games left to play. How would you sum up their campaign to date?

It has been an extremely frustrating season from a Tottenham perspective because they have been in the top four for the vast majority of it, and it is only really over the last couple of months they have fallen out of it, just because the results have been so up and down.

There are a number of games you can look back on that they should have won: Bournemouth at home, they lost away at Leicester, Wolves away and the last-minute draws against Southampton and Everton.

Probably the worst thing is that they have always been in and around the top four, so if results had not been so bad, a top-four finish would have been a certainty, but other teams have taken advantage of their poor form and that has left them in a position where you are wondering whether they will qualify for Europe or miss out altogether.

Ryan Mason is currently in temporary charge, following the sackings of Antonio Conte and, a month later, his assistant Cristian Stellini. This is the second instance the 31-year-old has stepped up to lead, but do you think it is still too premature to suggest he might take on the role permanently?

He has thrown his hat into the ring to take the job on a full-time basis. They have taken four points from 12 on offer since he took charge and there have been some positives.

They played really well in the second half against Manchester United - and maybe should have won that game - and they should have won at Liverpool, even though they were 3-0 down after 15 minutes, because they had so many chances.

They didn’t put in the best performance against Palace, but they got the points and we are at the stage of the season where it is about the points, rather than the performances, so they can’t have too many gripes about that.

Against Aston Villa last weekend, they had a poor first half and were a lot better in the second half, but they were not good enough on the day and the right team won.

If Mason wants the job, to back up his case, he has got to win a lot more games and certainly get Tottenham that Europa League place that looks out of their grasp now.

Even if he does well as acting head coach for the rest of the season, such a huge decision faces Daniel Levy this summer and, if he goes for Mason, I think it would just be viewed as the cheap option, especially when there have been a number of big names linked with the job.

He can definitely be Tottenham manager in the future, just not this summer.

The summer is bound to bring renewed speculation about Harry Kane’s future. Do you think Spurs will be able to keep suitors at bay for another year?

I think he will still be a Tottenham player come August. At the end of the day, he has got one year left on his contract, so it is down to Levy and the club as to whether they want to part with him.

He is such a crucial part of the team and has scored 27 league goals this season, so if it was not for him, I have no idea where Spurs would be in the table.

Given the big decisions facing Levy this summer, in terms of a new head coach and director of football, he cannot afford to part with Kane, so it might be a case of him staying for one more year unless they can get him to sign a new deal.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on on Saturday?

Easy - Harry Kane. He has just had such a good season and, in any other year, he would win the Premier League Golden Boot, but he has been unfortunate because of just how many Erling Haaland is scoring for Manchester City.

Kane has shown this season that he is so much more than just a goalscorer. He provides assists, his passing ability is just incredible and, with his general play, he just links things up for Tottenham.

How is Mason likely to set up his side in north London?

Against Palace, it was a 4-4-2 out of possession, which switched to 3-4-3 in possession, with Ben Davies - who was left-back in the back four - pushing up to left wing-back and Emerson Royal - who was right-back - would move across and become a right-sided centre-back.

What we saw for the majority of the season under Conte and Stellini was a 3-4-3, and I think Mason has been showing his tactical nous with that change, which is what you could see on Saturday.

Spurs fought back to draw 2-2 in the reverse fixture when football returned after the World Cup on Boxing Day. What’s your score prediction for this one?

I will go for a slender Tottenham win, 2-1.