Tottenham Hotspur duo Micky van de Ven, Djed Spence apologise for Thomas Frank snub

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank has revealed that he has received an apology from Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.

Despite making a strong start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Frank remains under pressure to win over supporters, particularly after Saturday's defeat to Chelsea.

During and after the match, Spurs were jeered by many of their supporters who were left unhappy with their tactics as they were outplayed and outfought by one of their London rivals.

In the seconds after the full-time whistle, Frank attempted to communicate with Van de Ven and Spence on the pitch, but the Dane was snubbed by both his players who stormed down the tunnel.

With the incident captured on camera, it has naturally made for negative headlines and heightened a perception that some Spurs players may not be buying into Frank's tactics.

Frank reveals Van de Ven, Spence apology

Ahead of Tuesday's Champions League fixture against Copenhagen, Frank revealed that the two defenders had made the effort to offer him an apology.

He told reporters: "Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation. They didn't want it to look bad or disrespectful.

"That was not their intention to me, the team or the club. They were just frustrated by the performance, loss and the booing during the game."

While Frank has acknowledged that he would have wanted to address the situation had Van de Ven and Spence not done so, he defended the pair as their actions showed that they "care".

He added: "If they didn't come in, I would have to ask them about the situation. Of course, I was happy they came in as I knew the questions would come in today.

"We all have a perception]. That was my first question: how were they and why? It means they care, they care about the team and the club and in this case, me. That was very good. We had a good talk about a lot of things.

"Like everything, we keep it internally. It will be very, very unusual if I throw a player under the bus. We are all humans and I will always protect them."

Pivotal week for Frank?

Frank could have benefitted from a week away from action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Spurs have two more home matches before the November international break.

After the game with Copenhagen, Spurs play host to Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime as they bid to remain in contention at the top of the Premier League table.

With a trip to Arsenal to come immediately after the next international period, Spurs can ill-afford to have their eight-point deficit to the leaders and fiercest rivals extended.

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