Tottenham Hotspur have no intention of sacking Thomas Frank after his poor performance in the north London derby against Arsenal. Spurs were torn apart by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze came close to signing for Spurs in the summer and rubbed salt in the wound with a hat-trick. Leandro Trossard also scored as the hosts won 4-1 and extended their lead in the Premier League summit.
Spurs’ fourth league defeat of the season came against a backdrop of growing restlessness among Spurs supporters in what they perceived to be a substandard and negative performance. But while Spurs bosses are aware of the poor performance, they want to give Frank time to turn things around.
According to the Telegraph, the club’s owners, the Lewis family, have made it clear that Frank’s appointment was and remains a long-term project. The club stressed that it is not panicking and will not be forced to make any hasty decisions. But they also have concerns.
The former Brentford manager’s repeated changes are believed to have contributed to a string of disappointing performances, but some players hope Frank will focus on his team’s strengths.
The team reported to Spurs’ training ground as usual on Monday before heading to France to prepare for Tuesday’s Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain.
After his team’s loss to Arsenal, Frank said: “I strongly believe that we can be successful no matter what system we play in. I completely understand the doubts and I will always take full responsibility. When we did not perform today, full responsibility will always be on me.”
“The team I picked played 5-4-1, changed at half-time and were very clever. In the first minute they made it 3-0 and the rest was history. What I want to say is that even if we play a different system, we should have been more aggressive and better in the duels. It has nothing to do with the system, but I take responsibility for everything today.”
On Spurs’ disappointing results, he added: “Of course, that’s always a concern. You want your team to have very few bad performances. It’s football that we’re dealing with, so there’s always going to be average performances.”
“That’s definitely something we need to look at, because I felt fresh today and I think we were ready. The game against Chelsea was a little bit after a tough situation. That might be it, but it was still a poor performance. We didn’t expect us to be uncompetitive today.”
Frank was appointed in the summer to replace Ange Postecoglou. Spurs paid a £10m fee to keep Brentford out, while Frank signed a three-year contract in north London.
