Presser points | Spurs vs AZ Alkmaar | Micky van de Ven

Netherlands international Micky van de Ven spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash with Dutch Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (8pm UK).

Here’s a snapshot of what he had to say...

A need for speed

Micky was asked how he manages to reach such high speeds while running on the pitch.

Micky: “When I was young, I was also really fast and when I got older and taller, I started to struggle with my running so that was the moment that I really trained on it. You need to run properly – I was so tall and everything looked like it was in slow motion, so that was the point that I was really training on it and then the speed came back. Since I was young, I was always really fast so it is not really something I’ve trained on.”

A high line

Micky was asked about playing in Ange Postecoglou’s system, with a high defensive line.

Micky: “I really enjoy it because I have the speed to recover a lot of big spaces. I also really enjoy the offensive football we play. With a high pressing team, I think if you want to play a high press, you need a high line because otherwise the distance between the attackers and the defence is going to be too big, so I really enjoy playing this high line and playing this offensive football.”

Settling in

Micky was asked how he managed to settle into English football so quickly.

Micky: “When I came here, the guys were really important for me. So straight from the beginning when I was here, I had three training sessions and then I started a game already, so the guys were really important and gave me that trust. The gaffer also gave me that trust that I had the qualities to play in this team at Spurs and to play at this high level. I think from the beginning, this helped me a lot and since then, everything has gone well and they keep trusting me. Also, when you are a player and have trust, you play more freely and that also helped me a lot.”

A discount?

A journalist made reference to our ‘Getting to know Micky van de Ven’ article from last season when he revealed that his favourite restaurant is near his dad’s house in Alkmaar...

Micky: “The owner of the restaurant is a good mate of my dad’s. My dad lives in Alkmaar. I think they are AZ fans so I don’t think I will get a discount if I play well tomorrow because then probably we will beat them! So we’re going to see what will be – for us, it’s a really important game tomorrow and hopefully we will get the three points.”

More control

Micky was asked what he feels has been the biggest area of improvement for our team from last year.

Micky: “This season I think we have more control of the games. Last season you saw in a lot of games that we lost control a little bit. When we lost the ball we were quite open and got a lot of counter-attacks, but now I think we control the games more. We know better positions for the players and I think players help each other more than maybe we did last season, so I think these are a lot of points that we have improved on but there are also some other points we can still improve on and which we work for every day.”

Dominic’s influence

Micky was asked about Dominic Solanke’s impact since his arrival at the Club.

Micky: “Dom has been unbelievable since he joined, he is working so hard. Even as a striker you see offensive, defensive – he keeps running the whole game and every time I am watching him and thinking ‘wow, how are you even doing this, keeping sprinting at this intensity over and over again?’ Also he is getting his goals and his assists so he is really important for us and hopefully he can keep going like this.”

Memorable assists

Micky was asked about his recent assists against Everton and Manchester United.

Micky: “I feel free to run and do what I want because the gaffer always tells us that what pops up in your mind you can do. Of course, you can’t shoot from the halfway line all the time but when you have the trust and the situation says you can do it, you can do it. Against Everton I saw the gap and the pitch was open because everyone was attacking and we were defening, and against Man United I just saw the gap and thought ‘if I start sprinting now it is going to be difficult for the defenders to stop me’. In both games it was a good finish, first from Sonny and then Brennan was in the right spot so it was a good feeling to get those assists.”

A history with AZ

Micky then answered a few questions in Dutch, touching on his history with AZ.

Micky: “I don’t really have a strong connection with Alkmaar. It’s just a coincidence that my dad lives there but I don’t necessarily have a strong connection with Alkmaar. I did play as a teenager for AZ. I think I must have started when I was around 12 years old, at the time I was being turned down and I moved to Volendam. In my younger years I think even Volendam had some doubts as well. When I was playing at Volendam, AZ did come and see me when I broke through. It was nice to have AZ and other teams come and have a look but I don’t think it’s true that AZ didn’t really see me (as being a future player) because I don’t think I had the qualities that I believe I have now at that time. I think I picked up steam a bit late. Maybe me playing against AZ tomorrow night is more special for the people around me, not so much for me personally. Of course, I have some friends who support AZ but for me it’s like playing against any other team. I do know some of the players who play for AZ from the national team as well.”

Watch | Micky ranks 'Michaels'!