Van de Ven and Spence apologise to Tottenham boss Thomas Frank after post-Chelsea game actions

Martin Macdonald

• 4 Nov 2025 04:28 CST
• 4 min read

Nieuws

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has revealed that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence privately apologised to him for their actions after the loss against Chelsea.

On Saturday night, Spurs lost 1-0 at home after a solitary goal from Joao Pedro sent the visitors home with all three points.

After full-time, Frank walked onto the pitch and ushered Van de Ven and Spence to stay to applaud the home fans. The pair ignored him and headed back to the changing room.

At the time, the home crowd were booing after Tottenham only mustered an xG of 0.05.

Following the incident, Frank defended the pair, telling reporters:

"All the players are, of course, frustrated. They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform. I understand that. I think it’s difficult to be consistent in good times and bad times, that’s why I went around to the fans as I did, it’s more fun when we win, I can tell you that.

"I understand why you ask the question. But I think that’s one of, how you can say, small issues. We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence doing everything they can. They’ve performed very well so far this season. Everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, I don’t think it’s a big problem."

WOW. 😮 Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven both walk straight past Thomas Frank at the full time whistle following our defeat to Chelsea… pic.twitter.com/ZeSt4SmaeZ

— Spurs Army (@SpursArmyTweets) November 1, 2025

The former Brentford manager, who was appointed Spurs boss in the summer, has now confirmed that the pair walked into his office and apologised.

"Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation," he said ahead of Tottenham's Champions League fixture versus Copenhagen.

"They didn't want it to look bad or any misconception that you can get in this beautiful media world. So there was no disrespect meant at all towards me or the team. They were just frustrated with the performance from us and the booing during the game."

Frank did say that, had they not apologised, the situation would have escalated.

"If they didn't come in, of course I would have had to ask them about the situation they are working in. How they are feeling, why they are doing it? Because we all have a perception," he confirmed.

"Whether it was because their mum wasn't well or they didn't like the head coach or they were irritated by the performance because they lost, or whatever. Of course, I am happy that they were coming in because that means they care - I think that is very good. They care about the team, the club and, in this case, me. I am happy with that."

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store