Igor Tudor appeared to be ignored by Micky Van de Ven just days into his tenure as Tottenham’s interim head coach.
Tottenham Hotspur sit 16th in the Premier League table, ridiculously close to the relegation zone. Thus, the club bosses decided to sack Thomas Frank and appoint Igor Tudor as an interim boss until the end of the season, thanks to his reputation as a firefighter.
Igor Tudor, however, couldn’t weave his magic in his first game as Tottenham boss against Arsenal on Sunday. His side was comprehensively beaten 4-1 by the Gunners in the North London derby. Given the current condition of the squad and form, the expectations were very low for the Lilywhites.
While they showed some spirit in the first half, Arsenal were too hot to handle after the break and deservedly claimed the bragging rights.
Ian Wright worried about Igor Tudor-Micky van de Ven moment vs. Arsenal
In a video which went viral after Tottenham’s defeat to Arsenal, Igor Tudor could be seen gesturing to Micky van de Ven to move up the pitch and be aggressive to the opponents’ attackers. Micky van de Ven appeared to blank his new gaffer, an event which was picked up by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
For Ian Wright, the fact that Van de Ven and other Spurs players were not trying to engage with Tudor was a worrying sign. He saw that as an evidence that Tottenham as a whole have “checked out” this season.
“Against Arsenal, I saw Tudor trying to speak to Van de Ven, and he blanked him, totally blanked him,” Ian Wright said on the latest episode of Stick to Football.
“That says to me that they’ve checked out already,” added Wright, referencing the moment below.
“This guy (Tudor) is new; he wants him to come up, he’s looking at Van de Ven, and he just stays there. That doesn’t look good.”
Tudor clears the air in his presser
For his part, Tudor denied any kind of conflict between himself and Van de Ven in his pre-match presser on Thursday afternoon, sharing that he had been addressing the whole team.
“It was about the team where we needed to get up if we wanted to press high. In this moment, maybe it is too much for them. Maybe that’s what the frustration is [from me],” Tudor said.
“If you watch carefully I don’t speak with him [in that moment], after I said to him to come closer, and he comes closer. In that moment, it was for the whole defence. We didn’t talk about it because nothing happened. He’s a fantastic professional and a fantastic guy, he would not do something like this [ignore me].”
Tudor is a very straightforward personality, and it was good on his part to address this incident. The big Croat is clearly seen telling the entire backline to push up, squeeze the spaces and make it difficult for the Arsenal forwards to breathe.
In the last 11 league games, our fans want to see from the players is the fight, passion, desire and heart to play for Tottenham and secure top-flight safety in the process.