Presser points | Eintracht Frankfurt vs Spurs | Micky van de Ven
Wed 16 April 2025, 22:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Micky van de Ven spoke to the media in Frankfurt on Wednesday evening, ahead of Thursday night's UEFA Europa League quarter-final, second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt (8pm UK).
Here's what he had to say...
Micky on how he's feeling at the moment...
"I'm feeling well. Every week you play a game... teams that don't play Europe, they play like this, so you play on a weekend, have a week off and then play on the weekend again. So to be honest I feel good, I feel recovered and I feel sharp. I'm ready to go."
Micky on wanting to 'win for Ange'...
"We all still have the trust in the gaffer and still have trust in the way he's playing, so tomorrow we want to win the game of course for him, but also for us, also for the club, and also for the fans. It hasn't been a really good season, but it's a big game for us and of course we want to achieve something special this season. I think this is the best way to do it."
Micky on if 'the season hinges on this'...
"We also have some Premier League games to play, but if we want to win some silverware, of course it has to be the Europa League, and we have to win this game to go to the next round. It's a big game for us."
Micky on Ange's message to the players...
"That it's a big game for us, but it's also a game like every week. We have to play our best football, we have to play the way we want to play, we want to create as many chances as we did in the last game against them. Hopefully we can win this game and go to the next round."
Micky on if he's worried about the longer-term impact of his injuries...
"No, not really. I recovered well. Of course, I had some same injuries in the last couple of years, but I'm feeling well and I'm not really worried about something for my future. I know I train and do everything to make my hamstrings as strong as possible, and the rest of my body also, so I don't really stress about something for my future for my hamstrings."
Micky on the atmosphere in Frankfurt...
"I know it's going to be a good atmosphere. The last time I played here with Wolfsburg was also a tough game, the fans are really behind the team, so it will be like a 12th man, but we should be fine. There will be noise but we need to focus on the pitch, that's the most important thing. It's going to be a good atmosphere, but we're ready for it."
Micky on Vicario and Romero's reaction to mistakes at Wolves...
"I think making a mistake is normal. Of course, after the game they were sad to make mistakes because they expect better from themselves. It can happen that you can make a mistake and after the game you can’t accept that from yourself. If you look at them now they are ready to go for the game tomorrow and they are as sharp as they normally are."
Micky on his fitness situation...
"I’m feeling well. I’ve seen some people outside of the training ground, some specialists. They have been helping me with running and understanding my body a bit more, so I've learned some things from them. Like I said, I feel really good right now and ready to go."
Micky on playing in every game and the importance of European football...
"Of course I want to play every game. Football is what you love the most, every game you want to play. But yeah, Europa League is a really important competition for us this season, we have some Premier League games ahead of us but if we want to win some silverware and qualify for a European tournament next season, then of course, the Europa League is a really important stage for us."
Micky on proving something to our fans...
"It hasn't been our best season and the fans want us to play better, they expect us to do better, but we also want to prove to them that we have the quality and ability, and when everybody is fit and the whole team is strong, we can achieve some beautiful things. Hopefully, we can show this tomorrow to our own fans but also to those that are doubting us."
Micky on taking confidence from the second leg comeback against AZ in the Round of 16...
"Also, in the first leg against Frankfurt, we played a really good game, we created a lot of chances. We drew, but that gave us a lot of confidence. It showed us that we can play against this strong Frankfurt team. We have confidence for tomorrow and we want to show what we did in the first leg and hopefully we can go through to the next round."
Micky on leadership...
"I want to help the guys like I always do, this is a very big game, it's the quarter-final of a European competition. I want to go into every game in the same way and help the guys push towards the goal we want to reach."
Micky on Eintracht Frankfurt forward, Hugo Ekitike...
"He's a really good player and scored a really good goal against us. You can see his quality. Tomorrow it's going to be me and the players playing next to me, it's going to be our job to eliminate him from the game tomorrow. He's an unbelievable threat from them, a really good player, we want to eliminate him tomorrow and get the win."
