Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has strongly denied suggestions that the club’s players do not care about their current situation. Van de Ven labelled the claims as “the biggest nonsense”, insisting the squad is focused on turning things around.
Van de Ven’s Rebuttal
The Netherlands centre-back addressed the media ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Atletico Madrid. Spurs find themselves in 16th place, a point above the Premier League relegation zone with eight games remaining. This difficult campaign has sparked questions about the players’ commitment to the club.
Van de Ven offered a passionate defence. He stated: “Trust me – those involved on the pitch, the staff and the players – they care so much about the situation we are in right now.”
He added: “We just want to turn things around and that’s the main focus for everyone. If reports say guys don’t care anymore it’s just frustrating for our guys.”
He also expressed concern that fans might start believing these negative reports, which “brings so much more trouble”. According to Van de Ven, “People are just making things up. The only thing I can say about it is it’s not true.”
Team News Ahead of Atletico Madrid Tie
Spurs are currently trailing Atletico 5-2 from the first leg in Madrid. They are hoping to overturn this deficit. This follows a club record sixth-straight loss before their draw with Liverpool in the Premier League.
Tottenham will be without Joao Palhinha for the match against Atletico due to his ongoing recovery from concussion. Cristian Romero, who clashed heads with Palhinha in the first leg, is available. Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall are fit enough for the bench after hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.
Spurs will be looking to improve their fortunes after a challenging run of form.