Thomas Frank responds after two Tottenham stars apologise for 'disrespectful' snub

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Tottenham manager Thomas Frank says that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence have apologised for their reactions after the defeat by Chelsea . Spurs were beaten 1-0 by the Blues in the Premier League on Saturday evening in a dismal performance that saw the home side booed off by their fans.

Things got worse post-match for Frank after a video of captain Van de Ven and Spence apparently ignoring his instructions to face the supporters went viral. The two Spurs defenders were seen dejectedly trudging down the tunnel, rather than staying on the pitch with their team-mates after the final whistle.

It painted a bad picture of the team morale and of Frank’s leadership, but the Dane says the incident is history after the players apologised. “Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday unprompted and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation,” he told reporters ahead of Tottenham ’s Champions League game against Copenhagen on Tuesday.

“They didn't want it to look bad or disrespectful, or any kind of perception you can get in this beautiful media world . That was not their intention to me, the team or the club. They were just frustrated by the performance, loss and the booing during the game.”

Asked how important it was that the duo came to see him of their own accord, Frank added: “If they didn’t come in then I’d have had to ask them about the situation of them walking in, what they were feeling and why they were doing it, because we all have a perception – and we do that strongly; because their mum wasn’t well, or they didn’t like the head coach, or they were irritated with the performance because they lost, or whatever. We’re very good at that and yet none of us know.

“Of course I’m happy [they came in] because I knew the question would come today. That means they care and I think that’s very good, that they care about the team, the club and in this case, me.

“We had a good talk about a lot of things and like with everything, we keep it internally. Like I said to the players, it would be very very very unusual if I ever throw a player under the bus. We’re all human and I’ll always protect them.”

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Frank accepted that boos were “more than fair” after they struggled massively against Chelsea , who won thanks to Joao Pedro’s goal. The away side should have won by a greater margin, but spurned several good opportunities.

The Spurs boss called on the supporters to channel their frustrations in the right way when Copenhagen arrive on Tuesday night. "During the game, we need the fans,” he said.

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