LONDON (AP) — Micky van de Ven lashed out on Tuesday at critics who believe Tottenham’s underperforming players were no longer committed to the team and were already thinking about their futures beyond this season.
“It’s the biggest nonsense,” the Netherlands defender said in strong remarks at a news conference ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham heads into the second leg trailing 5-2 from last week’s first match in the round of 16. Individual mistakes — including one from van de Ven — left Spurs 3-0 down after 15 minutes, putting them on course for a club-record sixth straight loss in all competitions.
Van de Ven was suspended for the 1-1 draw at Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, a result that showed there is some fight in a team that has been plunged into a relegation fight.
Tottenham has played in England’s top flight since the 1970s and is one of the country’s biggest teams, but is just one point above the bottom three with eight games left.
“Trust me, all the people involved on the pitch, the staff, the players, everyone, they care so much about the situation we are in right now,” van de Ven said. “We just want to turn things around.”
Tottenham interim manager Igor Tudor described his team’s task at home to Atletico on Wednesday as “difficult but not impossible.”
Tudor said captain Cristian Romero was available after missing the Liverpool game following a clash of heads with teammate Joao Palhinha late in the loss to Atletico.
Palhinha was not ready to return, however.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
