Micky van de Ven has blasted ‘nonsense’ claims some Tottenham players ‘don’t care’ and called for fans to trust that the squad are united in their efforts to avoid relegation.
The Dutch defender directly referenced a report last week that claimed one Spurs star had told team-mates he was ‘not too concerned’ by the prospect of relegation, due to believing they will be able to secure a summer transfer.
Van de Ven revealed the Tottenham squad had reacted with surprise to the claim, labelling it the ‘biggest nonsense’.
‘Reporters say some things and you think how do you even come up with this that players have switched off and don’t care about the situation what is happening right now,’ Van de Ven said, speaking ahead of the second leg of Tottenham’s Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid.
‘The only thing I can say about this is that it is not true. It would be strange if a player was in the dressing room and saying I am going to leave or I don’t focus on the situation because it doesn’t affect me.
‘It is just nonsense, things that are being brought out. People start believing it. It is the biggest nonsense, everyone is focused on what is in front of us.
Micky van de Ven hit back at ‘nonsense’ reports some Tottenham players are not committed amid the club’s fight against relegation
The Dutchman called for supporters to ‘trust’ that everyone involved in club is committed to turning their form around
‘Sometimes we read things by ourselves, the players as well and we are like “What is this”. The other day we read something about one guy who told everyone he is probably going to leave and does not care about the situation we are in.
‘People are making stuff up and it is frustrating because it brings so much more trouble because fans are starting to believe this.
‘They start saying “the guys don’t care about what is happening in the club”. Trust me all the people involved, the players, the staff, everyone cares so much about the situation we are in right now. We just want to turn things around, that is the main focus right now.’
Van de Ven, one of Tottenham’s prized assets, also gave a passionate defence of his own commitment and revealed he had apologised to his team-mates for his ‘game-changing’ red card in their 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this month.
‘For me it is frustrating,’ Van de Ven added. ‘People make something up and then people start thinking about me in a different way.
‘I can’t change something about this. I just want to stay fit and turn things around.
‘The last games from my side haven’t been the best, but the most important thing is that I keep showing I give 100 per cent to this club and I will always do as long as I play here.’
Van de Ven revealed he had been cheering from home after seeing Richarlison score their 90th-minute equaliser against Liverpool on Sunday, with the 1-1 draw snapping a run of six consecutive defeats.
Van de Ven revealed he had been cheering from home after watching Richarlison’s last minute equaliser against Liverpool on Sunday
Tudor has been handed a major boost with the return of Lucas Bergvall to first team training
The result kept Tottenham one point above the relegation zone ahead of their crunch relegation six-pointer against Nottingham Forest this Sunday.
Spurs will first seek to stage a remarkable turnaround against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, following their 5-2 first leg defeat.
‘It is a game we should play to pass [to the next round],’ said interim boss Igor Tudor.
‘The main goal is to focus on this game, even knowing that our first thing is to stay in the league.
‘It is a big challenge to show, after everything that happened in the game [the first leg], that we can do things against them.’
Tudor has been handed major injury boosts ahead of the game, with Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie returning to training, with the Croatian confirming the pair could be named on the bench on Wednesday.
Bergvall has been absent since suffering an ankle injury in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Dortmund in January, which required the Swedish midfielder to undergo surgery.
Cristian Romero is also available after missing the draw with Liverpool due to a concussion sustained in last week’s defeat, but Joao Palhinha remains sidelined.
Tottenham will also be without Richarlison through suspension.
