Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven 'said sorry', says Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank for snub after Chelsea defeat
Thomas Frank has confirmed Tottenham duo Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven apologised for ignoring their head coach at full-time following the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.
Spurs were booed off at full-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having recorded their lowest ever xG (expected goals) figure of 0.05 since Opta records started in the 2012-13 campaign, before Frank approached his players on the pitch.
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Stand-in captain Van de Ven and Spence headed towards the tunnel and despite Frank seemingly telling them to thank the home support, they walked past the Danish boss who stared in their direction before he turned to applaud the crowd.
Sky Sports News understands Frank and Spence spoke after the game and their interaction on the pitch at full-time was just a sign of their frustration at losing, rather than anything more.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Champions League fixture against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday, Frank provided more detail on the situation.
"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," he said.
"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."
Frank: We are all human, I will always protect my players
When pushed for further details on the meeting, which was unprompted and led by Spence and Van de Ven, Frank 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 [Monday].
"We all have a perception [of why it happened]. 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."
Vicario: I had to protect Bergvall from boos
Spence and Van de Ven were not the only players involved in an incident after the final whistle.
As players made their way around the pitch, applauding fans, Bergvall was pushed away from the stands by team-mate Guglielmo Vicario after seemingly reacting to something that was said by a supporter.
Vicario joined Frank to speak to the media ahead of Copenhagen and was asked about the incident, where he said: "In every environment, there are very good people and some are bad people.
"I had to protect him as he was a little bit emotional at that time. It is part of my experience. We can discuss inside the dressing room but won't do it outside."
Bergvall started the fixture against Chelsea but was forced off in the seventh minute after suffering a concussion.
"Lucas got a concussion," Frank continued when asked about an update on the 19-year-old's fitness. "Which was probably pretty obvious, big praise to the medical team.
"It is a tricky situation to be in. Well done to them, it is the player's health that is most important."
The Sweden international will now miss the game against Copenhagen and Saturday's meeting with Manchester United at home, live on Sky Sports.
Spence and Mohammed Kudus also picked up knocks during the defeat but should be available for Tuesday, according to Frank.
