Micky van de Ven has played down the furore over his apparent snub of Thomas Frank after Tottenham's Premier League defeat by Chelsea, insisting it was misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. The centre-half emphasised that the incident was born of frustration rather than any disrespect towards the manager.
Van de Ven and Djed Spence were filmed walking straight off the pitch after the defeat, ignoring Frank's attempts to get them to acknowledge the fans. The pair later apologised to the manager in his office the following day. “It’s the past so I don’t want to make it bigger than it is,” Van de Ven said. “Djed and I walked off. We were just frustrated after the game and everything got really exploded by the media.”
Van de Ven preferred to focus on the team's response, thrashing FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday, where he scored a sensational solo goal. Collecting the ball on the edge of his own box, he surged forward, evading several defenders before slotting home. “I saw the gap opening every time in front of me when I started dribbling,” he said. “I came through and I saw the way was open to the goal. So I was like: ‘OK, I keep going now, I need to finish this.’”
The Dutch defender's goal drew comparisons to Son Heung-min's Puskas Award-winning strike against Burnley in 2019, and it made him Tottenham's top scorer this season with six goals, two more than any team-mate. “Six goals is a lot already,” he said. “I don’t know where it’s going to end but hopefully I can score more this season.”
Spurs host Manchester United on Saturday in their final game before the international break, a match Van de Ven views as a crucial test of their recent resurgence.
