Micky van de Ven has opened up just how bad the feeling was at Tottenham Hotspur before Roberto De Zerbi walked through the door almost two months ago.
The revelations from the Spurs players since Sunday’s 1-0 win over Everton have been pretty telling, with many of them lavishing praise on their head coach for the transformation in the team’s mood.
James Maddison has admitted that Tottenham may have been relegated if not for De Zerbi’s arrival, stating that the Italian’s passion rubbed off on the squad.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher has revealed that he was extremely short of confidence until De Zerbi’s arrival, crediting the 46-year-old with making him believe in himself.
Tottenham star Micky van de Ven opens up on his personal struggles
Van de Ven has now become the latest player to shed light on what the mood around the Tottenham camp was until April.
He revealed that the players suffered with each defeat, and confessed that he also struggled a lot individually with the way things were unfolding.
The 25-year-old told Tottenham’s official website: “We’ve suffered a lot. Every single player on this pitch suffered a lot with the injuries we had, with players coming back and then other players are falling out again. So, we never really had the full squad.
“Personally, it was also really tough, because we kept losing game after game and I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t in the best mood at home as well with the family and with everyone because I suffered a lot about how the situation was going.
“We’ve been through a rollercoaster. At the beginning of the season, some ups, and I think after that, we just went down, down, down, and even more down. We didn’t think we would even go more down.
“Then, since Roberto came in, I think a new positive flow came into the group, and we played some better football and we got the points. Now we stayed up and we just need to make sure that next season is going to be a good season for us.”
Roberto De Zerbi has earned the right to make strong demands at Spurs
Some eyebrows were certainly raised when the Italian decided to take over at Tottenham when they were in an extremely perilous position.
Many were surprised that De Zerbi had signed a five-year deal at Spurs with no relegation break clause, but the 46-year-old has managed to succeed in his first objective of avoiding relegation.
The Spurs boss is now in an extremely powerful position, given the reputation he has with the fan base and the squad.
One would certainly expect him to make strong demands this summer as he aims to build a squad that can compete near the top end of the table.