Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has opened up on working with new interim boss Igor Tudor.
Tottenham Hotspur were bullied 4-1 by rivals Arsenal in the north London derby, in a repeat of the painful scoreline inflicted on them back in November.
Igor Tudor had a nightmare bow in English football. In his first game as Spurs’ interim head coach, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres both hit braces to pile more misery on the Lilywhites and keep them stranded 16th in the table. The Croatian’s side did actually go into half-time level, as Eze’s opener was quickly cancelled out by Randal Kolo Muani’s powerful low strike.
However, Tottenham couldn’t cope with the Gunners’ second-half onslaught. Mikel Arteta’s boys demonstrated the gulf in quality between the two sides, whilst ensuring that Spurs slid even closer to the Premier League relegation zone.
Micky van de Ven opens up on Igor Tudor after Tottenham loss
Tudor was always going to have an uphill task replacing Thomas Frank, and Sunday’s defeat only reiterated the current problems at the club. After the game, the new interim boss revealed that he was not angry with his squad as they were putting in effort but lacked confidence and quality.
Micky van de Ven was a part of the Tottenham squad that got dismantled by Arsenal. After the game, the central defender shared his thoughts after the first week of working with Tudor. He also stated that the team has to prepare well for the Fulham fixture and beat them.
“He is on us all week. Every day we worked on it. It’s his first week and he wants to help us in every way. We have all the week to prepare for Fulham,” Micky van de Ven said in an interview with Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport).
“We need to win the games. Step by step. We play Fulham now.”
Tudor will expect a reaction vs. Fulham
It was always going to be difficult for Spurs to overcome the table-toppers, Arsenal. Tudor and his coaching staff have had only a few sessions to drill the team, which clearly wasn’t enough, and the result on Sunday proved it. How the team played and the result against the division’s best side, shouldn’t be a barometer to judge the Croatian.
Fulham are Tottenham’s next opponents, and Tudor and Co. have a full week to prepare for the game. With more time on the training pitch, fans will hope our gaffer will be able to make the players understand how he wants them to play in each game.
It will be a London derby at Craven Cottage this weekend, so the Lilywhites must up their game to bounce back from the humiliation at the hands of Arsenal.