Van de Ven rubbishes claims of Spurs apathy

Claims of Spurs apathy

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MICKY van de Ven is adamant that it is “nonsense” to suggest that Tottenham Hotspur players are indifferent about the threat of relegation from the Premier League.

Spurs are just a point above the bottom three and their season went from bad to worse with a club-record sixth consecutive defeat in a 5-2 loss away to Atletico Madrid last week in the first leg of a last-16 tie in the Champions League.

Spurs did rally with a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Sunday to provide fresh belief and Van de Ven, criticised for a red card against Crystal Palace earlier this month, has dismissed accusations that some players have “checked out” in the battle to beat the drop.

“The only thing I can say is it’s not true,” he told reporters yesterday on the eve of the second-leg tie with Atletico tonight.

“It would be strange if a player was in the dressing room now and saying, ‘I’m going to leave either way, or ... it doesn’t affect me’. So, I think it’s just nonsense.”

The 24-year-old added: “The other day when we read something about one guy that said to everyone that he’s going to leave and doesn't care about the situation they’re in ... People are just making things up.