Thomas Frank seeks a change in Tottenham Hotspur’s fortunes as Dejan Kulusevski faces the prospect of missing the rest of the season

Spurs’ 2-0 win against Manchester United last Saturday left them just six points behind 18th-placed West Ham United in the relegation zone.

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side are in the midst of a long winter of domestic discontent, with the Magpies struggling to repeat their UEFA Champions League success at home.

“There’s no question we’re desperate to win the game. Desperate,” Frank said. The last time the team won a league game at home was in early December.

“When you’re not winning enough, there’s got to be that feeling. The way I work is, we’re all different, but when you’re not winning enough, you do everything you can and actually do a little more and work a little harder. Just knowing that’s how you get out of a difficult moment.”

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“That’s what I expect from the players and I think that’s actually what I see from the players. They’re running so hard that it’s very frustrating not getting anything out of the Manchester United game.”

“If it was 11-on-11, I’m sure we could have gotten something out of it.

“We haven’t won enough yet. We have to be desperate, because if you’re not desperate, you don’t understand the situation you’re in.”

“That’s what we want for our fans, that’s what we want for our team, that’s what we want for our club.”

With Newcastle also struggling, the atmosphere is expected to be tense, but Frank understands the importance of having supporters onside from the first whistle.

“I can tell you we desperately need them,” Frank said of the crowd scheduled to attend the game.

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“Of course, it’s not so easy when you don’t have as many players and you’re at bare minimum. You’re probably not so confident in the team and everything else. In that case, we have to unite and move forward.”

Last season, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side suffered a setback due to injuries, and the same is starting to affect the Dane’s own squad selection, with Destiny Oudogie likely to be out for “four or five weeks” after sustaining a hamstring injury against Man United.

James Maddison has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while Cristian Romero will begin a four-game suspension following his red card at Old Trafford.

Thomas Frank is under increasing pressure as Tottenham head coach

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This means Frank will have to find a solution defensively, while it is unclear whether winger Dejan Kulusevski will feature again this season after a long break.

Asked if the Sweden international would be available for this campaign, Frank admitted: “I don’t know.”

“Dek has another commitment this weekend and we’ll find out more, but of course the fact that he’s not in the Champions League squad means it’s not tomorrow.

“I’m focused on Newcastle. We have a great chance against a good team. That’s the important thing. Can we go there tomorrow and get the three points?”

“It’s going to be very good and it’s going to go up from there. Look forward. That’s what we have to do. That’s the main focus.”

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“I think we have the quality[to get out of this situation]. We have a lot of players out, but of course that doesn’t help in any way.

“But I actually thought we had a very competitive team against Manchester United and the first 30 minutes looked good.

“We lost two players tomorrow (Romero and Udogi), but Jed Spence is back and (Radu) Dragusin looked good when he came back.

“We know we’re going to field a very competitive team tomorrow as well, and we’re hoping to have a few more teams back after that, but we’ll see.”