Thomas Frank has admitted that Tottenham duo Jed Spence and Micky van de Ven have apologized for ignoring their head coach at full time after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Spurs were booed at full-time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before Frank approached his players on the pitch, posting their lowest ever xG (expected goals) figure of 0.05 since Opta records began in 2012-13.
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Free to watch: Highlights of the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Stand-in captain Van de Ven and Spence made their way to the tunnel, passing the Denmark manager, who looked in their direction, despite Frank telling them to thank the home support, who gave the crowd a round of applause.
Sky Sports News understands that Frank and Spence spoke after the game, and that their exchange on the pitch at full time was nothing more than an expression of frustration at the loss.
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Watch Mickey van de Ven and Jed Spence disrespect Thomas Frank after Tottenham’s home defeat to Chelsea.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game against FC Copenhagen, Frank provided further details on the situation.
“Mickey and Jed came to my office yesterday and said they wanted to apologize for the situation. They didn’t want it to seem bad and disrespectful,” he said.
“That was not their intention towards me, the team or the club. They were just frustrated with the performance, the loss and the booing during the game.”
Pedro Neto takes on Jed Spence as Thomas Frank watches from behind.
Frank: We are all human beings, I will always protect the players.
Asked for further details about the hastily organized meeting led by Mr Spence and Mr Van Deven, Mr Frank added: “If they hadn’t come, I would have had to ask them how things were going. Of course, I knew there would be questions today (Monday), so I was glad they came.”
“We’re all aware[of why it happened]. That was my first question: How were they and why?”
“It means they care about the team and the club and, in this case, me. It was very good. We had good discussions about a lot of things.
“Like everything, we keep it internal. It’s very unusual for me to throw a player under the bus. We’re all human beings and I will always protect them.”
Vicario: Had to protect Bergvall from the boos.
Spence and Van de Ven were not the only players involved in incidents after the final whistle.
As players walked around the pitch applauding fans, Bergvall was shoved from the stands by teammate Guglielmo Vicario after appearing to react to a comment from a supporter.
Mr Vicario accompanied Mr Frank to speak to the media ahead of Copenhagen and when asked about the incident said: “In every environment there are very good people and there are very bad people.
Lukas Bergvall talks to Spurs medical staff who replaced him after being hit in the head by a ball
“He was a bit emotional at the time and I had to protect him. That’s part of my experience. We can talk about it inside the dressing room, but not outside.”
Bergvall started against Chelsea but was sent off in the seventh minute with a concussion.
“Lucas suffered a concussion,” Frank continued when asked for an update on the 19-year-old’s health. “This is probably very obvious and a huge compliment to the medical team.
“We are in a difficult situation. Well done, the health of the players is the most important thing.”
The Sweden international will now miss the game against Copenhagen, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, and Saturday’s home game against Manchester United.
Spence and Mohamed Kudus were also injured during the loss, but should be able to return Tuesday, Frank said.
