{"id":424216,"date":"2026-01-19T23:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T23:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424216\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T23:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T23:17:07","slug":"thomas-frank-insists-everything-normal-despite-turmoil-at-tottenham-tottenham-hotspur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424216\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Frank insists \u2018everything normal\u2019 despite turmoil at Tottenham | Tottenham Hotspur"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas Frank has insisted the \u00adTottenham hierarchy are standing with him in the face of the storm gripping the club<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The manager\u2019s job is in the \u00adbalance, his situation precarious<\/a> after Saturday\u2019s 2-1 home defeat against West Ham<\/a>. The Spurs support were so incensed by the result and the continuation of the team\u2019s terrible Premier League form \u2013 they have won twice in their past 13 league matches \u2013 that they demanded Frank be \u201csacked in the morning\u201d.<\/p>\n

Frank has survived, for now, and will be in the dugout for Tuesday\u2019s Champions League tie at home to Borussia Dortmund. It remains to be seen whether it proves to be merely a stay of execution. Frank has a selection crisis for the Dortmund clash, with only 11 available outfield players \u2013 three of whom he said would struggle to complete the 90 minutes. His back is firmly against the wall.<\/p>\n

But Frank came out fighting on Monday and took it as a positive that he was able to have a friendly lunch with three of the club\u2019s main powerbrokers. They were the chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, the sporting director, Johan Lange, and Nick Beucher, the son-in-law of one of the owners, Vivienne Lewis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just been feeling the trust,\u201d Frank said. \u201cI\u2019ve said that at every press meeting \u2026 that there is backing and support. I had lunch with Nick and Vinai and Johan today, so all good. I know it\u2019s part of the media circus. The only focus I have is to do everything I can for us to win against Dortmund.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a good conversation about life and football, the future of the club, everything normal. Of course, there\u2019s a little bit of stormy weather out there. I just think it\u2019s an extremely good sign because normally people are running away if there\u2019s bad news or bad weather coming. They\u2019re normally not coming in and being friendly for lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank knows it will be a tall order against Dortmund, especially with such depleted resources. The German club are second in the Bundesliga, having lost once in the competition all season. They have been beaten only once in the Champions League, too. Frank was asked whether the Spurs executives had given him any assurances in the event of another defeat.<\/p>\n

Frank presides over training in preparation for the game against Dortmund. Photograph: Matthew Childs\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a nice question,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t heard any situation like that in football where they say: \u2018Hey, mate, if you win tomorrow, no problem. If you lose tomorrow, no problem.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank\u2019s continued employment can be seen as an extraordinary show of faith by a board who have not wanted to jettison him; they are mindful of the problems he has faced, not all of which have been of his own making. On the other hand, the questions continue to come thick and fast. Has Frank remained in the job because of the absence of a suitable and available interim alternative? Would it have been prudent to bring someone else in for such a difficult game and with the squad situation as it is?<\/p>\n

Frank sought to radiate positivity. When he walked out for training on Monday afternoon, he was asked how he was. \u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d he replied. \u201cThe sun is shining. We are playing football.\u201d Which was a nice answer, albeit one that overlooked the fact the skies were grey.<\/p>\n

Frank said fine margins had gone against his team in the West Ham game \u2013 and others of late, including the defeat at Bournemouth<\/a>. The players, he stressed, were still running and giving their all. \u201cIf your back is against the wall, you fight,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the team news was worryingly bleak. Just before training, the club announced that Ben Davies was to undergo surgery to repair the ankle fracture sustained against West Ham. Then Jo\u00e3o Palhinha did not emerge for the session, with the rest of a group bulked up by young players. He remains out. \u201cWhen it rains, it pours,\u201d Frank said.<\/p>\n

Xavi Simons did not train either, having damaged an ankle against West Ham when he was on the end of a tackle from behind by Jarrod Bowen. Simons, though, is poised to play against Dortmund. Frank will miss 13 players, including the suspended Micky van de Ven. Spurs\u2019s new signing, Conor Gallagher, is ineligible.<\/p>\n

Xavi Simons sprawls on the turf clutching his ankle after being tackled by Jarrod Bowen. Photograph: Daniel Hambury\/EPA<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bad tackle from Bowen, not that Bowen is a bad guy and would do anything intentional,\u201d Frank said. \u201cXavi has a swollen ankle but because he\u2019s so strong mentally, he will play through pain. While we are there, I can\u2019t understand why that isn\u2019t a red card [for Bowen] when a red card is when Xavi accidentally put his foot on Virgil van Dijk [and was sent off against Liverpool].<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 11 [outfield] players available and we maybe have three that need to push massively to get through 90 minutes physically. That\u2019s why we need everyone to support us from minute one. Especially the players, especially if it\u2019s not going too well. If we do get that support, everything can happen. Magic can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank has chosen to reinstate the fit-again Dominic Solanke into his Champions League squad at the expense of Mathys Tel, who drops out for the second time this season. Frank had recalled Tel before Spurs\u2019s sixth league phase game against Slavia Prague to replace Solanke, who had been injured for more than 60 days. The rules allowed Frank to reverse that decision and he has taken up the option.<\/p>\n

Tel is understood to be extremely surprised, having started the past four matches. Frank\u2019s decision to substitute Tel and send on Solanke against West Ham was booed by the Spurs support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thomas Frank has insisted the \u00adTottenham hierarchy are standing with him in the face of the storm gripping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-424216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}