Van de Ven: 'Nonsense' to say players don't care about Spurs' plight

Micky van de Ven is adamant that it is "nonsense" to suggest that Tottenham Hotspur players are indifferent about the threat of relegation from the Premier League.

Spurs are just a point above the bottom three and their season went from bad to worse with a club-record sixth consecutive defeat in a 5-2 loss away to Atletico Madrid last week in the first leg of a last-16 tie in the Champions League. 

Spurs did rally with a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Sunday to provide fresh belief and Van de Ven, criticised for a red card against Crystal Palace earlier this month, has dismissed accusations that some players have "checked out" in the battle to beat the drop.

"The only thing I can say is it's not true," he told reporters on Tuesday on the eve of the second-leg tie with Atletico. 

"It would be strange if a player was in the dressing room now and saying, 'I'm going to leave either way, or... it doesn't affect me'. So, I think it's just nonsense."

The 24-year-old added: "The other day when we read something about one guy that said to everyone that he's probably going to leave and doesn't care about the situation they're in... People are just making things up.

"It's just frustrating for us because it brings so much more trouble, because the fans are starting to believe this.

"Trust me, all the people involved on the pitch, the staff, the players, everyone, they care so much about the situation we're in right now.

"We just want to turn things around and that's the most important, that's the main focus for everyone."

Van de Ven could only watch on television, following his red card against Palace, as Spurs battled hard for a point at Anfield and the Dutch defender is eager to play his part against Atletico, and in Sunday's relegation 'six-pointer' with Nottingham Forest.

"What they showed, the character they showed in the game was unbelievable, and when Richy (Richarlison) scores and it's 1-1, it's just happiness at home, screaming towards the TV," he said.

"Tomorrow it's just a beautiful game. We have nothing to lose. We want to do something special.

"We're going to do everything to change things around, tomorrow first, and then afterwards in the Premier League games coming up."