Micky van de Ven reveals what he told his Tottenham teammates after red card drama

1 hour ago 33

Micky van de Ven has revealed how he addressed his Tottenham Hotspur teammates after his sending off against Crystal Palace.

Micky van de Ven has not been performing at his best in recent matches for Tottenham Hotspur this season.

Against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, the Dutchman was at fault for one of their five goals when he slipped to the ground.

In the match before that, Van de Ven’s costly error, where he opted to pull Ismaila Sarr to the ground in Spurs’ game against Crystal Palace, turned the game around when Tottenham were leading.

He picked up a red card for denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, leading Tottenham to go a man down and lose 3-1.

Micky van de Ven reveals Tottenham dressing room message after red card

Van de Ven has now revealed what he told his teammates after his costly error against Crystal Palace.

Speaking to football.london ahead of the Atletico Madrid second-leg tie, for which he is available after serving his suspension against Liverpool, the centre-back explained how he addressed the incident.

He said: “I just apologised to the team. Obviously, it was a game-changing moment. It was just a moment in the game where it is just split-second decisions you make on the pitch and obviously, it was not the best decision I made at that point.

“So devastated obviously when I needed to go in and saw the red card. At half-time, I just apologised to the guys.”

Spurs need a response from Van de Ven after recent errors

Van de Ven simply needs to step up his game for Tottenham as they head into a crucial part of the 25/26 season.

There is no denying that his pace and ball-carrying ability are qualities hard to replace in this squad, but when it comes to overall defending and impact on the defence, he is lagging.

Kevin Danso, currently second choice, has proven to be more reliable than the Dutchman and even Cristian Romero this season, with Tottenham boasting a better win percentage when Danso starts in defence.

There are already shouts from sections of the Spurs fanbase for Danso to be made captain and to start the remaining games.

Van de Ven simply has to step up now or run the risk of losing his spot in the team, as Tottenham need consistent displays from their players if they are to avoid the drop.