Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has finally opened up on the moment he snubbed head coach Thomas Frank after the club's 1-0 loss to Chelsea last weekend. The Dutchman, who captained the side on the night, was part of a Spurs team that registered their lowest-ever expected goals tally in a Premier League match. Clearly frustrated, the defender blanked his manager and headed straight down the tunnel at full-time, to a chorus of boos in north London.
Van de Ven's awkward moment
It was a night to forget for every Spurs player and fan as their fierce rivals, Chelsea, picked up another win at their home stadium. In the six years it has been open, the Blues have only ever lost once to Tottenham, and they barely had to get out of second gear to collect three points in the latest instalment. Van de Ven was caught up in the moment when their opponents scored their goal, losing the ball to Moises Caicedo before Joao Pedro opened the scoring. And with the crowd clearly frustrated at full-time, the giant defender, alongside team-mate Djed Spence, offered no appreciation for those who had sat and watched a difficult 90 minutes, despite Frank appearing to tell his players to show some recognition.
However, the Spurs boss did reveal both players came and apologised the morning after. He said: "Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation. They didn't want it to look bad or any misconception that you can get in this beautiful media world. So there was no disrespect meant at all towards me or the team. They were just frustrated with the performance from us and the booing during the game.
"If they didn't come in, of course I would have had to ask them about the situation they are working in. How they are feeling, why they are doing it? Because we all have a perception," he said. "Whether it was because their mum wasn't well or they didn't like the head coach or they were irritated by the performance because they lost, or whatever. Of course, I am happy that they were coming in because that means they care – I think that is very good. They care about the team, the club and, in this case, me. I am happy with that."
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Tottenham responded admirably to the weekend's setback, with Van de Ven starring in the 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League. The performance included a Puskas Award contender from the defender, who channelled his inner Heung-Min Son, running the length of the pitch, beating a handful of players and slotting past the goalkeeper like a seasoned frontman. A wave of emotion could then be seen leaving the former Wolfsburg ace as he screamed in relief while sliding towards the celebrating Spurs fans.
No disrespect intended
Unsurprisingly, Van de Ven was summoned for post-match interviews with multiple media sites after the game, but he was also forced to answer for his actions at the end of Saturday's game. He said: "To be honest it’s in the past so I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. Djed and I walked off, we were just frustrated after the game and everything got really exploded by the media, it was nothing big. Everyone thinks it was the gaffer – there was nothing to do with the gaffer. We were just frustrated after the game because of a bad performance, from myself as well. We want to play well and I didn’t play well in my opinion so I was just frustrated and I just wanted to go quick inside. As I said, it got exploded by the media out of nowhere."
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Tuesday night's win comes at a timely moment for Spurs, who are home again on Saturday when they welcome Manchester United. The Red Devils will be looking for revenge, having lost four times to the London club last season – including in the Europa League final. Tottenham currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, only ahead of United on goal difference.