Thomas Frank has acknowledged Tottenham are “desperate” to win at home to Newcastle on Tuesday, but conceded he does not know if Dejan Kulusevski will play this season.
Spurs go into the midweek fixture down in 15th and only six points above the bottom three after a run of two wins in 16 Premier League matches.
Frank was repeatedly asked about relegation on Monday and while he refused to detail if Tottenham were embroiled in a survival battle, he admitted they are eager to claim a first domestic win of 2026.
“There is no doubt we are desperate to win games. Desperate,” Frank insisted.
“And I am focusing on Newcastle tomorrow. That is a great opportunity ahead of us against a good team. That is the main thing — can we go out there and get three points tomorrow, that will be very good and climb from there and look forward.”
Tottenham are in danger of being dragged into a relegation battle this season. Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Spurs will be without several players, including Kulusevski, who has not played since May after a serious knee injury.
Kulusevski recently had an injection to help him deal with pain in his knee but after being left out of Tottenham’s Champions League squad for the knock-out phase, Frank could not provide a positive update on the Swedish playmaker.
Asked if Kulusevski will be able to feature this season, Frank conceded: “I don’t know.
“Deki has got another appointment at the end of this week where we will know more, but of course if he’s out of the Champions League squad, it’s a sign it is not tomorrow.”
Left-back Destiny Udogie was the latest to join the injured list on Saturday after he sustained a hamstring injury during the 2-0 loss at Manchester United.
“Unfortunately Destiny has a hamstring injury, so he is out for the next four to five weeks,” Frank revealed.
Djed Spence is back in a timely boost, but captain Cristian Romero begins a four-match suspension for his red card at Old Trafford.
“I think we spoke enough about Romero at the last press conference,” Frank said.
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“He’s a young leader, so he’s learning every day. I’ll use the example, I remember when I was 30 years old, I thought I was on top of the world. I was nowhere near the level I am today in terms of leadership and understanding things.
“And then when you have a player that is playing with so much passion and aggressivity, then sometimes things like that can happen. That’s not to say that he shouldn’t learn from it. Of course, he needs to learn from it.”
Frank also issued a rallying cry to disgruntled Tottenham fans ahead of a crunch fixture for both clubs, with Newcastle only able to win one of their last eight matches.
“I can say we desperately need them,” Frank added.
“Of course, when you’re a little bit down to the bare bone, not that many players, it’s not that straightforward, it’s maybe not as confident the team and all that, then we need to push together.”