Tottenham Hotspur crashed to a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the North London derby at the weekend, and Micky van de Ven has urged his teammates to step up.
The Netherlands International defender explained that there are plenty of young players at the club, and the experienced stars will need to guide them and step up when needed. Van de Ven believes that the experienced players will need to take more responsibility and produce consistently.
Micky van de Ven challege to his teammates
The defender said (h/t CaughtOffside): “If you are a club like Tottenham Hotspur, you have this quality of place (training ground), and you are, what I say, as big as the most, it’s unacceptable that you’re standing at this place on the table, and the results need to be way, way better.
“Of course, we still have some quality players left. We have a really talented squad and some top players, but we also miss some key players for us, and it’s really important for the players who are fit right now to step up.
“You have some young players, obviously, in the group, and you can’t really ask them to be the guys that need to push us forward. So, then, normally, I have Cuti next to me, who is now unfortunately suspended, but you have [Guglielmo] Vic behind me, who has a lot of experience, Joao Palhinha, in the midfield, who has a lot of experience, [Dominic] Solanke, who has a lot of experience.”
Can Tottenham players turn it around?
It has been a very disappointing season for Tottenham so far, and they are close to the relegation zone. It will be interesting to see if they can bounce back strongly in the coming weeks. A club of their stature should be aiming for a place in the top four and competing regularly in the UEFA Champions League. Missing out on European qualification for the next season would be a huge financial blow for them.
They are currently 16th in the League table, just four points above the drop zone. It seems unlikely that they will be relegated at the end of the season, but it has been a humiliating campaign for them, and the players will have to step up and deliver for the fans now.
The club has brought in Igor Tudor to change things around, and it will be interesting to see if the manager can get the best out of his team in the coming weeks.
