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8 hours ago
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Thomas Frank has called for better support from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd after revealing that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence had apologised to him for their reaction to the 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday.
Van de Ven and Spence were incensed when the full-time whistle went and the Spurs fans booed, as they had done at half-time with their team trailing to João Pedro’s 34th-minute goal. The defenders stormed past Frank towards the tunnel, ignoring their manager’s attempts to get them to acknowledge the supporters in the South Stand – a bad look at the end of another bad Premier League day at the stadium.
Tottenham have won only once in five games there under Frank in the competition, losing three, which has continued a worrying trend. The team have three victories and 12 defeats in 19 home league matches and have lost 41 times at the stadium since it opened in 2019. It hurts the Spurs fanbase to realise that their fiercest rivals, Arsenal, have lost 48 league games at the Emirates Stadium – and that opened in 2006.
Frank was happy to provide the detail of how Van de Ven and Spence had been to see him separately on Sunday to say sorry as they began the preparations for the Champions League match at home against Copenhagen on Tuesday night.
Frank is acutely aware of how poor his team were against Chelsea – they offered nothing in attacking terms – and he accepted that the jeers could come after the final whistle. But he was also clear that there needed to be greater positivity from the stands during the game. There were boos, for example, towards the end against Chelsea when the goalkeeper, Guglielmo Vicario, played a sideways pass rather than something more forward-thinking.
“I want to get the point across that the fans were fantastic in the first 30 minutes,” Frank said. “It seems there was a little bit of a turning point when we conceded the goal, where we all get a little bit frustrated, which is natural.
“After the game, if we perform badly and on top of that we lose, it’s more than fair enough that they boo us. We are in the performance business and if we can’t deal with the pressure, the negativity or the criticism, we shouldn’t sit here. But during the game, we need a little bit of help. And especially when it’s not going the right way.
“They [the fans] can be the turning point. We were 1-0 down in the last 15 minutes … imagine they carry us over the line and we got a little bit of an unfair 1-1. What a feeling! That point can be the difference in a long season.”
Vicario was seen after the game pushing his young teammate Lucas Bergvall away from a confrontation with an irate supporter. The goalkeeper pointed at his own eyes and then at the fan as though to say he was watching him.
“In every environment there are very good people and some bad people,” Vicario said. “Probably [Bergvall] got contact with one bad person. That doesn’t necessarily say that everyone are bad people. But there are some bad people in every environment and I had to protect him because he was a little bit emotional in that time.
“Of course, we have spoken as players [about the home crowd]. In some moments during the game, probably when we are chasing, we need a little more cool heads and if we have a little bit more help in some situations coming from the stands it could be, of course, better.”
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On the Van de Ven and Spence situation, Frank said: “They came into my office yesterday, unprompted, and just said: ‘Want to say sorry for the situation.’ They didn’t want it to look bad or disrespectful or all of the kind of perceptions you can get in this beautiful media world. That was not the intention at all towards me or the team or the club. They were just frustrated with the performance, the loss and the booing during the game.
“Of course, I’m happy [they apologised] because I knew the question would come today and it means that they care. They care about the team, the club and, in this case, me.”
Frank, who reported that Bergvall was observing the 12-day concussion protocol after his withdrawal against Chelsea and would miss the games against Copenhagen and Manchester United on Saturday, also made a gentle plea for perspective. Despite Spurs’ difficulties at home, they have been excellent on their travels to sit fifth in the league – a contrast to the domestic horrors of last season when they finished 17th. They are also unbeaten in their three Champions League ties.
“If anyone would have said that we would have 17 points after 10 games, fifth place and unbeaten in the Champions League … everything’s definitely not perfect but there’s a decent foundation and it’s up to us to add layers,” Frank said.
“I think everyone would have taken where we are now, in terms of 22 [league] defeats last season and finishing 17th. The Europa League [victory last season] was fantastic, wow. But the Champions League is different.”
