Guglielmo Vicario appeared to shift the blame for Tottenham’s poor run of form onto the fans as he called for greater support from the stands.
The Spurs stopper, 29, was greeted with a chorus of boos alongside his team-mates after Thomas Frank’s side slumped to a 1-0 derby defeat against Chelsea on Saturday evening.
A major flashpoint at the end of the tie in north London emerged when Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven gave their manager the cold shoulder. Lip-reader Jeremy Freeman told the Daily Mail today that England star Spence told his boss, ‘I ain’t doing it… go away,’ before waving off his entreaties as van de Ven trudged off ahead of him.
It paints a dire picture for Frank, whose side are now winless in the last five games and face the tricky test of hosting FC Copenhagen in Tuesday’s Champions League fixtures.
But Vicario today apportioned some responsibility for the players’ performances onto the fans as he reflected on the weekend’s defeat.
‘If we had more help from the stands if it could be better but of course, we cannot control it,’ the keeper said.
Guglielmo Vicario today appeared to shift the blame for Spurs’ poor run of form onto the fans
Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven gave Thomas Frank the cold shoulder after Saturday’s loss
‘At the end of course everyone was really disappointed because we had lost a London derby.
‘We got the reaction of the fans at the end of the game, of course they can express their pain, and we are in a big painful situation.’
In the aftermath of Saturday’s match, Frank tried to downplay the significance of his players ignoring him, saying: ‘All the players are of course frustrated. They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform well, so I understand that.’
But today he revealed that Spence and van de Ven had since apologised to him because they ‘didn’t want it to look bad or disrespectful’.
Both players sought out their boss on the day after the defeat and told him they were disappointed by the result in a London derby and the reaction of supporters, who had booed the team before the end of the game.
‘Micky and Djed came into my office, unprompted,’ said Frank. ‘And just said: “Want to say sorry for the situation.” They didn’t want it to look bad or disrespectful or all of the kind of perceptions you can get in this beautiful media world.
‘That was not the intention at all towards me or the team or the club. They were just frustrated with the performance, the loss and the booing during the game.’
Frank, who has accepted the apologies and considers the matter closed, elaborated upon the subject of Spurs fans booing their players before the Chelsea game had finished.
Thomas Frank revealed Spence and van de Ven had apologised to him for Saturday’s incident
‘I just want to get the point across,’ he said during a press conference ahead of the tie against Copenhagen. ‘I think the fans were fantastic the first 30 minutes of the game Saturday night. I think the noise was incredible and that carried us forwards.’
‘It seems there was a little bit of a turning point when we conceded the goal. Where we all get a little bit frustrated, which is natural.
‘I think it’s more than fair, because we are in the performance business, and if we can’t deal with the pressure or deal with the negativity or the criticism, we shouldn’t sit here.
‘We are in the football world because we love the game and love to be part of something. It’s nice, the big occasions and the big crowds. I think the fans were fantastic the first 30 and after the game if we perform badly and on top of that we lost the game, more than fair enough they boo us.
He then appeared to join Vicario’s stance of calling for more support from the fans, as he continued: ‘But during the game, we need a little bit of help. And especially when it’s not going the right way.
‘They can be the turning point. We are down 1-0 last 15, imagine they carry us over the line. We got a little bit of an unfair 1-1, what a feeling. That point can be the difference in a long season.’
Spurs fans made their feelings known during the closing stages of the defeat, which extends a poor run of home form. Under Frank, they have won only one of five home games in this season’s Premier League.
They became frustrated as time ran out and booed at one point when Vicario took a free kick short to Spence, who was closed down quickly and passed the ball back to his goalkeeper, who then kicked the ball long and harmlessly through to Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez.
Footage of Spence and van de Ven, who was captain on the day, walking past their boss was widely circulated on social media.
Vicario and his team-mates were booed by Spurs fans who are growing increasingly frustrated
Spence can be seen to throw a hand up into the air in a dismissive fashion and Frank’s stare lingers disapprovingly as they disappear to the dressing room.
Frank said: ‘If they didn’t come in, of course I had to ask them about the situation they were walking in, what they were feeling, why they were doing it, because we all have a perception.
‘That it’s because their mum wasn’t well, or they didn’t like the head coach, or they were irritated with the performance, or it’s because they lost, or whatever. So that would be my first question to them. How were they and why?
‘I’m happy, because I knew the question would come, that they were coming in. And that means they care. I think that’s very good. They care about the team, the club. In this case, me.
‘I’m happy with that. So that was very good. Then we just had a good talk about a lot of things. And like with everything, we keep it internally. Like I said to the players when I said that before, it will be very, very, very unusual if I ever throw a player under the bus. We’re all humans, but I’ll always protect them.’
The comments come at the risk of infuriating Spurs fans, whose patience is wearing thin amid their club’s poor run of form.
While they are fifth in the Premier League, a vast improvement on their 17th-place finish under previous manager Ange Postecoglou last term, the football has been uninspiring.
Their expected goals tally of 0.05 on Saturday was the worst they have ever managed since the metric was introduced in 2012.
Spurs are fifth in the Premier League but the football under Frank has so far been uninspiring
They have also won just three of their previous 19 home Premier League games, though most of those matches were under Postecoglou.
Vicario is also putting himself in the firing line by calling for greater support, given he previously faced the wrath of the supporters for similar in March this year.
In fact, Postecoglou had to come to the keeper’s defence after he was seen gesturing towards fans for more support following a Europa League defeat away to AZ Alkmaar.
The move angered the travelling contingent, but Postecoglou insisted his player’s actions were done only with the best intentions.
‘Vic is very, very passionate about this football club,’ said Postecoglou.
‘He wants to win and he wants everyone on board with that. And if people think there is one bad or vindictive bone in Vicario they don’t know the man that I do.
‘The guy’s one of the purest human beings you could ever come across. So whatever he does, he does what he thinks is best for the team, best for this football club because he really cares.’
Vicario faced the wrath of the Spurs support in March this year after calling for greater support
Vicario then offered up an apology on social media in an attempt to placate the fans after the fractious post-match exchange in the Netherlands.
The Italian wrote on Instagram: ‘As a team, we take full responsibility for our terrible performance. Still, we have a great opportunity starting from Sunday to redeem ourselves.
‘Regarding what happened at the final whistle, I want to clarify my intention to keep everyone as united as possible, even in the disappointment we have caused our people.
‘If I have offended anyone, I apologise to those who felt affected. Post-match emotions can be misunderstood but I assure you my commitment to this team and you, our fans, grows stronger day after day.’
