Van de Ven eyes Europa League glory with Spurs more confident than ever | OneFootball

Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven is enjoying life playing under Ange Postecoglou, saying the manager’s trust has given him a wealth of new confidence.

Speaking ahead of a Europa League tie against AZ Alkmaar, the Dutchman said that the high line defense for which Tottenham are so often criticised suits his play style as the fastest player in the league.

Speaking on Ange’s system, he said “I really enjoy it, because I have the speed to recover a lot of big spaces, but I also really enjoy the offensive football we play. We are a high pressing team. I really enjoy playing in this high line and playing this offensive football.”

He continued, saying that Postecoglou puts great faith in his players’ instincts and abilities.

“I feel free to run to be honest, to do what I want, because the gaffer always tells us to do whatever pops up in your mind. You could shoot from midline every time, but when you have the trust and the right situation you can do it.”

That confidence was made manifest as he assisted goals against Everton and Manchester United.

He said: “I saw the gap against Everton because everything was open, they were attacking and we were defending, and against Man United the same, I saw the gap and thought ‘if I start sprinting now it is gonna be difficult for the defenders to stop me.'”

He is not the only one feeling the love from Postecoglou. As the mood in the squad improves, so too have team performances, and trophies feel closer than ever.

“This season we have more control of games. Last season you saw in a lot of games we lost control a bit. When we lost the ball last season we were quite open, there was a lot of counter attacks.

“We control games now more and there are better positions for the players, we help each other more than maybe we did last year, so I think these are a lot of points we have improved on but there are also a lot of points we can still improve on which we work on every day.”

With Tottenham’s trophyless streak now extending to 16 years, most recently lifting the Carling Cup in 2008, Van de Ven hinted that confidence in the squad is constantly growing.

“We want to win a trophy. I think that is something we all want and are working for every day, over and over again, and we are in a lot of tournaments this year so we are going to do everything to win a trophy.”