Gary Neville demands ‘disgraceful’ Tottenham stars issue apology | Football | Sport

Gary Neville called on Tottenham‘s players to say sorry to their supporters for their woeful performances throughout the campaign. Tuesday night’s defeat to Chelsea left Spurs needing at least a point against Everton this afternoon to secure their top-flight status.

Joao Palhinha’s strike two minutes before the interval proved sufficient to guarantee his side another season of Premier League football. Yet it has been a thoroughly miserable campaign for Spurs. The north Londoners have gone through three managers while shattering a string of unwanted records, including suffering six consecutive defeats for the first time in their history and enduring a 15-match winless run in the Premier League.

Speaking immediately after the final whistle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Neville said: “They made today as comfortable as they could possibly could do. Roberto De Zerbi has got them over the line.

“If I were those Tottenham players who have been an absolute disgrace this last three months, they should be heading around this stadium and apologising to the Tottenham fans en masse because they come here every single week, those fans, 60,000 every week, to this great ground and this great club and they’ve been underserved.”

“But at least they have a time now, Tottenham can reset in the summer, decide who they want on the bus, who they want off the bus, knowing that they will at least have Premier League football and their fans can go home easy tonight.”

Rather than being embarrassed at how close they came to relegation, the post-match atmosphere was one of delight and relief as Spurs celebrated their 17th-placed finish.

Speaking after the final whistle, Micky van de Ven told BBC Sport: “I think everyone was behind us today and we played with 12 men on the pitch.

“Everton were unbelievable, they kept pushing us and when we needed to defend but they kept pushing, I think they were a massive part of the win.”

Asked if he was embarrassed at needing a result on the final day to secure survival, the Dutchman replied: “It is unacceptable that the last game we played this season we play for relegation.

“This club has some unbelievable players. It was embarrassing to let it come to the final day but we did it and that is what is important.

“To be honest I was more emotional at the end of the final whistle, it has been a tough season for me personally as well. I played almost every game and I have suffered a lot, the emotions are really happy and we must not let it happen again.”