Tottenham's Relegation Nightmare: Van de Ven Calls it 'Unacceptable'
Tottenham Hotspur secured their Premier League status for another season with a tense 1-0 victory over Everton on the final day, a result that simultaneously consigned West Ham to relegation to the Championship. The decisive goal came in the 42nd minute from João Palhinha, marking only Tottenham's third league victory at home this term.
Post-match, Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven expressed strong disappointment with the club's situation. "It is unacceptable that the last game we played this season we play for relegation," Van de Ven told the BBC, emphasizing the quality of players at the club. He added, "It was embarrassing to let it come to the final day but we did it and that is what is important," acknowledging the relief despite the unsatisfactory circumstances.
Head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who had stated pre-match that the team was playing for dignity rather than silverware, reflected on the outcome and his future mission. "I am happy but I enjoyed today, football is nice," De Zerbi said, highlighting the satisfaction of achieving their objective. He believed the team "deserved this win, this game, we deserve everything from today," citing their 11 points in seven games as proof they deserved to stay up. He praised his players for their fantastic game, spirit, and attitude, particularly their strong first-half performance.
Looking ahead, De Zerbi outlined his commitment to building a stronger team to "stop the suffering at the club." He stated, "Now tonight we have to organise and build a new team. We don't have to change too many players. We have 10/11/12 players good enough to stay, both as players and people." However, he stressed the need to "complete the squad with first level of players because we suffered too much. The players they suffer too much. We are Tottenham and we can't suffer like this until the last second and last game and I will be stronger."
De Zerbi affirmed that his target was to stay up, and his next goal is "to start the pre-season with a team I have in my dream." He also addressed the fans, expressing his happiness for them and promising that "next season the target is to make them happier than this season for sure. I would like to compete, but stop the suffering here." When asked about promising an end to such relegation battles, De Zerbi admitted the difficulty in the "very tough league" but insisted on learning from past mistakes. "Smart people can't forget the past and we have to improve from our mistakes and we have to look forward to start being a team from this night. We have no time to go on holiday."
Further details from De Zerbi included his keen interest in signing João Palhinha on a permanent deal and his delight with Antonin Kinsky's performance. He considered keeping Spurs in the Premier League to be the biggest achievement of his career.
Meanwhile, Everton head coach David Moyes expressed his frustration with his side's defeat. "We didn't play well in the first half, we were resilient enough not to let Tottenham go further ahead, we were the better team for the last 20 minutes," Moyes commented. He also shared his disappointment for his former team, West Ham, regarding their relegation, urging them to "Take a dose of medicine and get back. They'll be back, get them ready for when they get back and prepare them again."
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