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Tottenham Hotspur have finished 17th in the Premier League for the second successive season, staying up by the skin of their teeth

Micky van de Ven admitted Tottenham should be “embarrassed” they only saved themselves from relegation on the final day of the season.

Tottenham survived by the skin of their teeth after Joao Palhinha scored the winner in their first home win in the Premier League since December 6. It sparked wild celebrations at the final whistle as Spurs avoided one of the worst days in the history of the club as Tottenham went down at the expense of West Ham.

Tottenham defender van de Ven said: “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."

OPINION

Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi, who took over as the club’s third manager of the season just last month, described it as the biggest achievement of his career to keep the club up - but insisted it cannot happen again.

De Zerbi said: “We are Tottenham and we cannot suffer from the last second of the last match of the season. My target has been to stay up and now my next target is to build a team for the next season.

“Today was unbelievable. From where we were, it was the best day in my career along with taking Brighton into Europe. The fans were incredible. I suffered a lot through the game but my life is so nice because of the pressure in football. Without that pressure it would not be nice.

“Next season we have to build a top, top, top team. We don't have to change too many players in our squad but we have to bring in some first level players.”

Tottenham Hotspur secured their survival on the final day of the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Everton as Joao Palhinha scored the only goal of the game

There should be no cause for celebration. You can understand the huge overwhelming sense of relief in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the final whistle.

The stadium began to chant “We are staying up” after Roberto De Zerbi did his best David Pleat impression as the Spurs boss ran onto the pitch with echoes of Luton’s great escape at Manchester City all those years ago. The players then went round the pitch to whip up the fans to celebrate with the long-suffering fans as if it was some sort of miraculous great escape from relegation.

And when they began to play “Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur” it showed that this great club has truly forgotten what it stands for. Maybe you can indulge the fans this time - but rival supporters will be looking on to see how far this great club has fallen.

No-one should remember this day as anything other than the lowest, most embarrassing point for Tottenham in the Premier League era.

It has been an utter shambles on the pitch, off the pitch and this must serve as a warning to the club’s hierarchy this can never be allowed to happen again.

You have to credit the Tottenham fans because they were so loud before kick-off and they created a remarkable atmosphere to lift and inspire the players.

Incredibly, this was Tottenham’s first home win in the Premier League in this calendar year, a run which stretches back 170 days to December 6 when they beat Brentford 2-0 under Thomas Frank’s reign.

They have had two managers since then and, after Igor Tudor’s disastrous caretaker spell, De Zerbi has finally managed to lift this group of underperforming players to safety.

Ultimately, Joao Palhinha scored the goal to secure the win, Spurs’ safety and yet really far too many of them should hang their heads in shame.

This is no one-off freak of a season. They finished fourth from bottom last season and have finished 17th again. This whole club needs a reset.

Six years ago, they had pretensions of being part of the European Super League and, from there, they have become perennial strugglers who have survived by their skin of their teeth. Again. They built their magnificent 60,000 stadium to become one of the biggest clubs in Europe and yet so nearly dropped into the Championship. They were lucky West Ham were even worse.

Frankly, they were also very lucky they faced an Everton side who looked like they were already on the beach and had two players - Jordan Pickford and James Garner - papped coming out of a strip club this week.

There was never really a sense of jeopardy in the stadium because it was always going to take Tottenham to lose, West Ham to win and Spurs never went behind. The news filtered into the stadium that West Ham were ahead and you could sense the nerves and tension. When the board went up to show nine minutes of added time, there were huge groans

However, Tottenham have been so bad this season they still thought one Everton goal might change all that. That is how bad Spurs have been. The fans feared they could still lose it.

Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky made a sensational save from Everton substitute Tyrique George deep into injury time. Kinsky, the fall guy in the Champions League at Atletico Madrid, made another incredible stop to deny Leeds victory two weeks ago. He did similar at Wolves.

Those are the small margins which have Tottenham in the top flight. Last season, Tottenham at least won the Europa League. But they still did not learn their lesson.

If they do not improve this summer then they only have themselves to blame. De Zerbi looks to have the energy and hunger needed.

But when the TV cameras panned to the directors’ box during the game, you could see the nerves etched over the faces of the hierarchy. No wonder.

It would have been a disaster on every level and one of the biggest stories in the history of the Premier League if they had gone down. It cannot happen again.

Gary Neville laid into Tottenham within seconds of them securing Premier League safety following their 1-0 win over Everton

Gary Neville told Tottenham Hotspur’s players to apologise to the club’s supporters for the way they have performed this season, branding them 'disgraceful'. Defeat against Chelsea on Tuesday night meant Spurs required a draw or victory against Everton this afternoon to guarantee survival.

And even though West Ham United beat Leeds United 3-0 at the London Stadium, Joao Palhinha’s goal two minutes before the break was enough to ensure his side will be playing in the Premier League next season. But the campaign has been a disastrous one for Spurs.

They have had three head coaches, and multiple unwanted records have been set, including losing six games in a row for the first time in the club’s history and going on a 15-match winless run in the Premier League.

And speaking in the immediate aftermath of the full-time whistle going 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.

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“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."

Former Spurs star Jamie Redknapp was similarly damning in his assessment of his old club's season after they narrowly avoided relegation.

"There will be a mixture of total joy but embarrassment as well because you've found yourself in this position but today you have got to enjoy it, the fans have got to enjoy it, the players, the staff but tomorrow there has to be a major inquiry into how this club with this stature and this fan base has got themselves into this predicament," he said.

"The emotion today, that's all fine, but this can't happen again. Huge three points for them, De Zerbi has come in and made a bit of a difference but not good enough this season, not by any stretch of the imagination."

Speaking after the game, Palhinha said: "It's an amazing feeling after a really tough season. A lot of things happened this season but we showed today what we can do.

"After a bad season like this one we showed up as a collective and had amazing support from the fans. The club will grow up with this season and we know what we have to do in the future.

"It's a big pleasure to play here with a top coach and top team-mates. We have to celebrate even if we didn't finish the position we deserve as Tottenham."

On his goal, the midfielder said: "It was just a goal. I just tried to help the team. I had a lot of emotions and wanted to dedicate it to my two sons and my parents."

West Ham's 3-0 win against Leeds doesn't matter as Tottenham beat Everton 1-0 to send Nuno Espirito Santo's side down from the Premier League and into the Championship on the final day

West Ham have been relegated from the Premier League for the first time in 15 years after losing their battle with Tottenham on the final day of the season. The Hammers have been circling the drain for much of the campaign and their fate was sealed despite a 3-0 win over Leeds.

Trailing by two points, Nuno Espirito Santo's side needed to beat Leeds and for Spurs to lose against Everton, but that never looked like happening. Joao Palhinha's scrappy rebound from a corner sent Spurs in at the break 1-0 up, while West Ham were booed off by their own fans at the London Stadium with the score at 0-0 at half-time.

Taty Castellanos headed in Jarrod Bowen's corner to give them the lead midway through the second half. But Everton were not doing their bit, having failed to have a shot on target after 65 minutes, meaning that Bowen's low finish to make it 2-0 and Callum Wilson's drive in the 94th minute counted for little.

The Hammers came into the final day in poor form, having lost three straight games against Brentford, Arsenal and Newcastle, and with their supporters downbeat and statisticians Opta giving them just a 15 per cent chance of escaping. Other than a diving save from Antonin Kinsky to deny Everton winger Tyrique George in injury time, there was no magic in the air in London on a sweltering summers' day as logic kept the drama at bay.

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Castellanos failed to get a shot away when clean through on goal early in the second half and blasted another opening high and wide minutes later. But the £26million summer signing came good when he nodded in a corner and star player Bowen showed his quality once more with a high-quality solo goal before Wilson pinged a shot into the bottom corner in injury-time but barely celebrated.

Yet the atmosphere inside the London Stadium told the real story, with no news of an Everton revival coming through. West Ham's third relegation from the Premier League, after 2002-03 and 2010-11, was confirmed when the final whistle blew a few miles to the north west, with the Tottenham game lagging behind after a farcical delay due to the referee's communication equipment.

The Hammers posted a £104.2m loss for the last financial year and their relegation will inevitably mean player sales, with captain Bowen - their top scorer for a fifth consecutive season - and midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who only joined for £42m from Southampton last summer, the most valuable assets who are set to move on.

It also has implications for London taxpayers, who will see an extra £2.5m diverted from public services to cover increased operating costs at the London Stadium, where the Hammers have the most favourable of rent deals.

Spurs had taken eight points six games under De Zerbi before the final day yet had to overcome a miserable home record. But Everton arrived in north London winless in six games and never really looked like helping David Moyes keep his former club up in a flat performance which screamed last day of the season.

Ultimately, the decision to make De Zerbi the third manager of the season, after Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, has been vindicated, giving a sweet end to an otherwise miserable campaign. Spurs have now secured back-to-back 17th-place finishes and will need a major rebuild over the summer to avoid a repeat.

For West Ham, their change from Graham Potter to Nuno in September has not paid off. Now they are braced for a revolution before starting life in the Championship next season.

Tottenham have taken a huge stride to securing Premier League survival as they lead Everton 1-0 at half-time. Joao Palhinha's goal just before the interval is the difference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As it stands, Spurs are 17th on 41 points, four more than 18th-place West Ham, who are drawing 0-0 against Leeds United but are poised to be relegated to the Championship if results stay as they are.

Elsewhere, Liverpool are heading for the Champions League with Bournemouth losing at Nottingham Forest and the Reds drawing 0-0 at home to Brentford. Brighton are trailing 2-0 against Manchester United in their fight for Europe, while Sunderland are beating Chelsea in a crucial game in that race.

Manchester City are winning 1-0 against Aston Villa in Pep Guardiola's final game at the helm, while champions Arsenal lead Crystal Palace, Wolves are 1-0 up at Burnley and Fulham are ahead against Newcastle United.

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Tottenham need a point to avoid relegation and send West Ham down to the Championship as they welcome Everton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the last game of the Premier League season

One of two major final-day Premier League fixtures in the capital sees Tottenham Hotspur bring their survival battle to a close at home to Everton on Sunday afternoon. Spurs missed the chance to secure safety in midweek, but their two-point cushion and healthier goal difference over West Ham United means a draw should be enough to preserve their ever-present Premier League status.

The match is set to be an enticing one with Spurs the odds-on favourite at 17/20 with BetGoodwin to get all three points while Sky Bet have Everton at 14/5 and a draw is 13/5 with Paddy Power. You can also find more betting offers at the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side came up short against a fatigued Chelsea team still recovering from an FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City. Goals from Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos put Spurs behind before Richarlison pulled one back, but controversy followed again when Marc Cucurella was booked for a foul on Micky van de Ven in the box — only for no penalty to be awarded because the ball was deemed not in play.

Tottenham’s fate is still in their own hands. Relegation would only become reality if Spurs lose and West Ham beat Leeds United, unless an improbable scenario unfolds where Spurs draw and West Ham win by 12 or more.

Home form has been a glaring issue, though, with Spurs taking just 12 points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season — the joint-worst total in the division alongside Burnley.

Everton, by contrast, have often done their best work away from home, collecting 26 of their 49 points on the road — a tally matched by Spurs and bettered only by Arsenal and Manchester City.

However, the Toffees come into the finale on a poor run. David Moyes’s side surrendered a 1-0 lead in last weekend’s 3-1 home defeat to Sunderland, a result that ended any lingering hopes of a late push for Europe and marked their sixth straight league game without a win, conceding at least twice in each — even if they have also scored in all six.

Everton were beaten 3-0 by Spurs earlier this season, and they have lost their last four away league games against Tottenham by an aggregate score of 13-1, including a 4-0 defeat in August 2024.

Tottenham vs Everton Prediction

Both teams to score - 7/10 ( BetGoodwin )

Richarlison to score anytime - 11/10 ( BetGoodwin )

Tottenham vs Everton Team News

Tottenham’s survival hopes could be lifted by Dominic Solanke, who has recovered fully from a hamstring injury, although a decision is still to be made on whether he features.

Richarlison may retain his place after scoring his 11th Premier League goal last time out, and he needs one more goal contribution to match his best-ever top-flight return of 16.

Spurs remain without Ben Davies (ankle) and Mohammed Kudus (thigh), as well as knee-injured Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero, who has angered supporters by returning to Argentina instead of attending Sunday’s decisive game.

For Everton, Idrissa Gueye is still a doubt. What was initially described as a minor issue has kept the 36-year-old out for almost a month and he has yet to return to full training. Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) and Jack Grealish (foot) are done for the season, and Everton’s hopes of signing Grealish permanently from Manchester City remain unresolved.

David Moyes insists he will not send out a weakened side, so Everton are expected to name a team similar to the one that lost to Sunderland, a game they only let slip in the final 10 minutes.

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'I played 236 games for Tottenham and Arsenal were never really our rivals - another club were'

A Tottenham hero admitted it wasn't Arsenal who he saw as the club's main rivals

Chelsea dealt a damaging blow to Tottenham's survival hopes this week, over a decade since their famous 'Battle of the Bridge' clash. The Blues defeated Spurs 2-1 on Wednesday to ensure the north London side will fight to keep their Premier League status on the final day of the season.

The two sides have been engaged in many compelling battles over the years with their heated 2016 fixture at Stamford Bridge ranking above all. It was a period of time where Spurs were definitively better than Arsenal which led Tottenham hero Toby Alderweireld to claim it was Chelsea who were their main rivals instead of the Gunners.

Spurs were aiming to keep their title hopes alive when they travelled to west London and what occurred was one of the dirtiest games in Premier League history. There were 12 yellow cards brandished with nine of them shown to Spurs' outfield players in the 2-2 draw which saw Leicester City be crowned champions.

The retired Belgian star played 236 games in six years for the club and he opened up about the fateful night at the Bridge. Speaking to The Times, he said: "The pressure had been building for a couple of weeks and all the attention meant everyone was so fired up.

"At that time we were always above Arsenal so for me that was not really the rivalry, it was much more Chelsea. With VAR you wouldn’t get a game like that now.

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"Maybe I’m a nostalgic guy, but that was the beauty of no VAR." The 37-year-old said it was the "craziest" match of football he's ever played. He added: "I was the only one who didn’t get a yellow!"

"I think it was the craziest game I ever played. Foul, foul, the game always standing still and the yellow cards. You could feel the game from the first duel, the first foul, it’s like ‘Oh that was a nasty one’. Straight away."

Over a decade since then, the tables have drastically turned in north London as Arsenal were officially named Premier League champions following Manchester City's draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

It'll be a party atmosphere at the Gunners' last match of the season against Crystal Palace whereas Spurs will need to earn at least a point against Everton to ensure survival and relegate West Ham.

There's been contrasting fortunes across the London-based top-flight teams with Arsenal possessing the opportunity to earn further success through their Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.

A victory at the Puskas Arena in Budapest would mark Arsenal's first Champions League title and see them become the seventh English team to win the competition.

Tottenham play Everton at home on Sunday needing a result to be guaranteed of their Premier League status in a battle with West Ham, but Cristian Romero won't be there

Cristian Romero has angered Tottenham fans after it emerged that he won't be at their relegation decider this weekend. The Spurs captain is out injured and has decided to travel back to Argentina to watch his former club this weekend, instead of cheer on his team-mates against Everton.

Romero suffered a knee injury in Tottenham's 1-0 loss at Sunderland last month which ruled him out of their remaining matches. His loss was a significant one for manager Roberto De Zerbi, but they have taken eight points from the following five games to give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop from the Premier League.

Spurs go into their final match against Everton at home with their fate in their own hands, knowing victory will secure 17th place and send West Ham down in 18th. The Hammers are two points worse off than their London rivals and host Leeds on Sunday.

It will be a tense and extremely important Sunday for Tottenham, but Romero will not be in the stands. The defender will instead be supporting his old club Belgrano as they play River Plate for the Argentine title this weekend. The Cordoba-based club posted a video on social media of Romero at their training ground on Friday.

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That decision has not gone down well on social media, with some fans describing his decision as "disgraceful". Many others have suggested this signals the end of his time at the club, regardless of whether they are relegated or not.

Romero has been strongly linked with a move to Atletico Madrid this summer, despite having three years left on a contract extension he signed last year. The 28-year-old joined Spurs in 2022 from Atalanta and has played 156 times for the club.

His importance to the squad was underlined by De Zerbi when confirming his season-ending injury last month. "Romero, I'm very sorry for him, for his injury," De Zerbi said. "First of all, Romero loves Tottenham, people have to know he's suffering for this injury, suffering because he can't play for us again this season. He's a great captain for us.

"We have to be positive. We have Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso, they are able to play, to play well, to give us the quality with the ball and to be strong in the defensive space so we can win. We want to win."

In his absence, Danso has partnered Micky van de Ven in central defence, but the duo could not stop Chelsea from winning 2-1 on Tuesday to set up the final-day relegation decider.

Both Spurs and West Ham face sides with little to play for, with Everton sitting 12th in the Premier League, while Leeds are 14th.