Tottenham manager Igor Tudor has found himself already having to deny rumours of a rift in the dressing room after an incident with Micky van de Ven caught the eye of Ian Wright
Ian Wright
Ian Wright put forward a theory about Igor Tudor(Image: The Overlap)
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Tottenham manager Igor Tudor has been forced to deny that Micky van de Ven ignored him during the North London Derby defeat by Arsenal. Tudor's spell in charge got off to a poor start on the weekend as the Gunners eased to a 4-1 win over their bitter rivals.
Tudor was brought in to try and steady the ship after Thomas Frank was sacked with Spurs in a relegation battle. They sit 16th, just four points above West Ham in 18th, following a miserable run of form in the Premier League.
Spurs have gone nine matches without a win in the league and are at risk of being sucked into the battle, with West Ham's form on an upward trajectory. Matters have been made even worse by an apparent lack of belief in Tudor's ability to get them out of a sticky situation.
Viewers of the Arsenal game on Sunday noted that Van de Ven appeared to ignore Tudor as he issued instructions from the sidelines. Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright is convinced that there is something seriously wrong with the mood in the dressing room, although Gary Neville and Roy Keane are less sure.
"Against Arsenal I saw Igor Tudor try to speak to Van de Ven, he blanked him, totally blanked him," Wright said on The Overlap's Stick To Football podcast. "That says to me they have checked out already."
"You think so?!" Keane replied. "They did that with Thomas Frank when he tried to walk around the pitch." Neville then declared Wright's verdict as "harsh", but Wright wasn't to be deterred.
"This guy is new, he wants him to come up and Van de Ven just looks at him and stays there," he continued. "You think to yourself, that doesn't look good. That does not look good."
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Tottenham Hotspur coach Igor Tudor gestures during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Igor Tudor during Tottenham's defeat by Arsenal(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista, Getty Images)
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Tudor leads his side against Fulham in the league on Sunday and was forced to deny the rift in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "If you watch carefully, I don't speak to him," he told reporters. "Afterwards, I said to him to come closer, and he comes closer.
"We didn't talk about it because nothing happened. He's a fantastic professional and a fantastic guy, he would not do something like [that]."
Asked what he learned about the team from the Arsenal defeat, Tudor said: "Nothing much to tell. We already comment after the game what kind of game it was, what the moments was in this moment, that moment. So, not much to speak even in this moment, which is a very particular moment.
"Less we speak, better it is. So, it's all focused on the daily work in the training, to climb up on the table, you know. To work on performance, to work on all things. So, less we speak better it is."
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