Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank goes into Saturday’s clash against Liverpool in desperate need of a morale-boosting victory. Journalists have questioned his qualifications to lead the club forward, and in light of increasing talk that he is facing being sacked. Nevertheless, the Dane insists that his players still fully support him.
The winners of the Europa League showed just how brutal they can be when they decided to sack Ange Postecoglou, who – despite leading the club to their first major trophy in 17 years – ended his era after a disappointing 16th place in the Premier League. And although Spurs have shown some early promise under his successor Frank, he himself is under serious pressure in the wake of a very weak performance period.
Tottenham are 11th in the table ahead of Saturday’s clash with the reigning champions, and are six points away from a coveted top-four place where they hope to be.
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Furthermore, a spell of just one win in the last seven Premier League games has led to an increase in talk of Frank’s sacking, and he is now one of the favourites to become the next manager in the top flight to lose his job.
Defeat to Liverpool on Saturday would mean a fifth defeat in the last eight games – no wonder he feels the pressure.
According to Tottenham Hotspur pundit Paul O’Keefe, there are serious doubts within the club as to whether Frank is the right man to lead the club forward.
“I don’t think any Spurs fan is particularly happy with the season so far,” O’Keefe told ThisisAnfield. “The performances have been mostly disappointing and lackluster, so it’s been a tiring period for the supporters.”
When asked if Frank is the right man to lead the club forward, he added: “Thomas Frank is clearly a pragmatic manager, with systems that rely on efficiency and consistency. Tottenham is a vortex of chaos, so good luck with that! Overall, it is too early to say whether he is the man who can lead them forward.”
Thomas Frank mutes talk of the sack and insists that he still has the players behind him.
Like any well-run club, Spurs are already keeping potential replacements in mind, in case the club suffers further declines in results.
And while all dreams of hiring Jürgen Klopp have been rejected, despite Lord Alan Sugar’s wishes, our transfer correspondent Fraser Fletcher insists that the club is keeping its options open, despite sources close to the club insisting that Frank still has the board’s support – for now.
“He still has time,” an insider confided. “The management believes in his process, but a few more are falling, and the contingency plans will accelerate.”
However, a sustained decline in results could see Spurs go for Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, as the Austrian top coach has a contract that expires at Selhurst Park at the end of the season.
It is also worth noting that The Athletic has also declared this week that discussions among Tottenham’s key decision-makers have led to a conclusion – the club must stick with Frank.
The report read: “Thomas Frank has received the support of Tottenham Hotspur management after discussions at the top of the club.”
The Dane himself, who currently has a 40% win percentage at the club, is clear that he still has the player support.
“No, I think it’s been a good buy-in,” Frank said at a press conference when asked if his players support him. “You could say that from the start of the season we started quite well without being spectacular. I think we were very good in some games and good in other games. As in every season, you have some adversity and periods where things may not go in the direction you want, but I don’t see anything to suggest that they are not with me or going in the same direction.”
When asked about the support of the board, he continued: “I feel supported. I’ve felt that all along. This is not a quick fix. This will take time. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t do everything we can to beat Liverpool. I’m very comfortable and sure that I want to, how should I put it, sort it out, but just to make sure it’s not just me. When this club comes out on top, there will be a lot of good people working together, aligned at the same time over the years. I only know one thing I’m pretty good at – I’m good at analyzing things. I know what good looks like, and I know where we should get [to], and… I am 1000% sure that we have not seen any club succeed unless they had key people in the right positions over a long period of time. And I want to trust myself to be one of those key people in that position.”
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