SYDNEY — Micky van de Ven has said a repeat of Tottenham‘s horror 2025-26 season is something he does not even want to contemplate.
Speaking to the media the day before a friendly match against A-League Men side Sydney FC, the Dutch defender was clear that this upcoming season will return Tottenham back to where they deserve to be among the Premier Leagues’ top sides.
“That’s something we’re gonna do,” he said on Monday. “We’re gonna work for it really hard, and we’re gonna do everything to make it a different season from last season, because last season was unacceptable from our side.
“It’s really good that you see the club has made some changes. They bring a new manager in — a really good manager, in my opinion — and some really good signings. I think in this way you can see the club has some new ambition, that’s also really important for players who’ve been there for a long time.
“Spurs is a team that needs to play Europe every year, so obviously the Europe spots is what we’re going to aim for. But the most important thing is to play our football and be a difficult team to play against.
“It’s better when you go with a fresh mind into the new season. Obviously last season was a stressful season, so to leave everything of that behind and go with a fresh mind into the new season, that helps a lot.”
The vibes seem to be high after an easy 2-0 win over Auckland FC over the weekend, with new manager Roberto De Zerbi — brought in at the end of last season to rescue Tottenham’s toppling campaign — resting most of his top players.
This week’s match against Sydney FC, followed by what could be a more intriguing clash against Chelsea, could show glimpses of what Spurs fans can look forward to after a proper De Zerbi preseason.
“The last couple of weeks of last season, you saw he brought a lot of passion into our group, a lot of mentality-wise and passion-wise onto the pitch,” Van de Ven said.
“Obviously something we needed as well because everyone was a little bit down. And he started to play a lot with the ball, because he loves to be on the ball, loves to play the football he wants to play. And that’s also something I really enjoy because I like to be on the ball instead of running behind the ball the whole time.
“So he brings a lot of good energy and also now from presseason we really got the time now to bring his football into the team and that’s really enjoyable.
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“The feeling of the team is really good. Obviously I know the gaffer from the end of [last] season, so I really enjoy working with him as well. That’s what we’re doing from this preseason. The guys who have come in are unbelievable as well, they fit well into the group, so that’s really good.”
Tottenham take on Sydney FC on Wednesday at Accor Stadium, kick-off 7.45 p.m. AEST (10.45 a.m. BST/5.45 a.m. ET).
