Micky van de Ven has hit back at suggestions that he and his Tottenham teammates do not care about the club’s plight and will dig out escape routes in the summer.
The defender has endured a terrible couple of weeks, taking in his gamechanging red card in the defeat by Crystal Palace and the performance against Atlético Madrid when he fell over to give up a goal and was fortunate not to be sent off again.
Van de Ven’s lunge at David Hancko as his team trailed 4-1 was the act of a frustrated player – he escaped punishment – and, more broadly, his halo has slipped in the eyes of some supporters. He was one of the heroes of last season’s Europa League final victory over Manchester United, his acrobatic goalline clearance arguably the defining image of the game.
It has been much more of a struggle this time out, mainly because of the collective difficulties which have left Spurs in a relegation battle. They lost 5-2 at Atlético in the Champions League last 16 first leg and have it all to do in Wednesday night’s return. The bigger game this week will come on Sunday when Nottingham Forest visit in the league.
There was a much-needed tonic in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool – a match that Van de Ven watched from home because he was suspended – but the situation remains fraught and it has led to all manner of whispers about the attitude of the players. Van de Ven took aim at them when he sat down to preview the Atlético game and he spoke from the heart.
“I’ve seen things … players are switched off or don’t care about the situation,” he said. “The only thing I can say is it’s not true. It would be strange if a player was in the dressing room now and saying: ‘I’m going to leave either way.’ Or: ‘I don’t focus about the situation because everything that’s going to happen, it doesn’t affect me.’ It’s just nonsense.
“Sometimes we read things by ourselves … with the players, as well, and then we’re just like: ‘What is this?’ The other day, we read something about one guy that said to everyone that he’s probably going to leave and doesn’t care about the situation and then someone reads this and we’re just like: ‘How does this come out?’ People are just making things up and it’s frustrating for us because it brings so much more trouble because the fans are starting to believe this.
“Trust me, all the people involved on the pitch … the staff, the players, everyone … they care so much about the situation we’re in right now. We just want to turn things around.”
Van de Ven was asked whether he was frustrated that fans who once chanted his name felt differently about him because of things they had heard or read. “It is frustrating because people start making things up and people start thinking about me in a different way,” he said.
“Obviously, the last games from my side haven’t been the best and I know that as well. It’s just most important that I keep showing to everyone that I always give 100% to this club. And I will always do as long as I play. If people say things, then people say things. Obviously people are going to believe things that are not true. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
The interim manager, Igor Tudor, who continues to fight for his job, will welcome back Cristian Romero against Atlético but not João Palhinha. The pair clashed heads in the first leg and were concussed; Palhinha came off worse. Conor Gallagher is a major doubt with the virus that ruled him out at Liverpool and Richarlison is suspended. Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall are back after injury and poised to be among the substitutes.
Van de Ven revealed that he apologised to his teammates at half-time against Palace after the red card, which came as they led 1-0. They were 3-1 down by the break. He went through all kind of agonies as he watched the Liverpool game from his sofa but he was cheered by more than Richarlison’s 90th-minute equaliser.
“I saw some unbelievable mentality from the team,” he said. “It was a massive point. You see the guys fighting every second of the game. You’re just sitting there on the sofa and hoping that the guys score a goal because it’s what they deserved. And when Richy scores, it’s just happiness at home, screaming towards the TV.”
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