Micky van de Ven was honest and direct after Tottenham’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, openly pointing fingers at his teammates for not creating enough chances in attack.
Despite starting brightly at home, Spurs failed to make their early dominance count, allowing Villa to turn the game around and claim all three points.
Rodrigo Bentancur had given Tottenham an early lead just five minutes into the match, finishing calmly after Joao Palhinha’s clever header across the box. But as the game progressed, Villa began to grow in confidence and control.
Morgan Rogers levelled the score just before half-time with a fine strike from the edge of the area that left Guglielmo Vicario helpless.
The visitors then sealed the comeback in the second half when substitute Emiliano Buendia cut inside and curled home a stunning winner in the 77th minute.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Van de Ven admitted that Tottenham simply didn’t do enough to deserve a win.
He expressed frustration that the team lacked creativity and conviction in front of goal despite dominating large spells of the game. “I don’t think we did enough,” he said. “If we did, we wouldn’t have lost.
They scored two from outside the box, but we also needed to create more for ourselves. We always give 100% to the fans and the club, but it wasn’t enough today.”
Spurs’ preparation suffered a setback even before kickoff when Cristian Romero pulled out during the warm-up with a minor abductor problem, forcing Kevin Danso to step in at short notice.
Van de Ven praised his defensive partner, saying, “We knew Romero was a doubt, and it’s never ideal when he has to withdraw late, but Kevin came in and did really well.”
Manager Thomas Frank confirmed that Romero’s injury wasn’t serious and expressed mixed feelings after the loss. “We started very well,” he said. “Villa scored two goals out of nowhere.
We had moments but couldn’t make them count. If you told me before the match that they’d be shooting from those positions, I’d have been fine with it.”
The defeat adds to Tottenham’s growing frustration, with their strong starts in games often undone by a lack of composure and creativity in the final third.
For Van de Ven, it was another painful reminder that hard work alone isn’t enough — Spurs need to be more ruthless if they want to stay in the top-four race.
