Thomas Frank has claimed he feels supported by the Tottenham board despite increasing pressure on his job as head coach.
Frank revealed he had lunch with the most important elements of Spurs’ leadership on Monday following Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened West Ham.
Sky Sports News revealed on Monday that Frank will be given Tuesday’s Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund after a meeting was held at board level regarding his future.
Thomas Frank says he “feels trust” from club officials.
Spurs bosses are thought to be considering all options after fans booed Frank and chanted “You’ll be sacked in the morning”, but the Dane is adamant he is on the same page as his employer.
“I’ve just felt a sense of trust in the process. I’ve said in every press conference that I have support and support,” he said.
“Today I had lunch with Nick (Bucher), Vinay (Venkatesham, CEO) and Johan (Lange, sporting director), so I’m good.
“I know this is part of the media circus and my only focus is to do everything we can to win against Dortmund.
“I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, as long as we win football games and win enough games, everyone will support us.
“It’s not about me, it’s about supporting the team and supporting the players.”
Spurs reduced to 11 senior players vs Dortmund
Frank admitted he will not be able to charm all Spurs fans after he was booed and chanted “fired in the morning” after the defeat to rivals West Ham.
The pressure is mounting on Franck, who will field a depleted squad against Dortmund with just 11 senior players available for the penultimate Champions League game.
Spurs then face 19th-placed Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, but no final decision has yet been made on Frank’s future.
“I would say in this game you always have to show resilience,” Frank said.
“I was told the other day that one of the three most important things in demonstrating resilience is having good values, and I consider myself a guy with pretty good values.
“Second, you know the reality. And the reality is that 1 in 5 people don’t like you, no matter what you do. 1 in 5 people love you, no matter what you do. And 3 in 5 people are usually upset if you’re well behaved, respectful, show integrity, and do your best.”
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Tottenham fans boo Thomas Frank at full-time as Spurs slump to three consecutive defeats.
“So no matter what you do, the reality is that no one is going to like you.
“Finally, have perspective on life, which I have in abundance. I will continue to do what I do and what I believe.
“If your back is against the wall, fight, that’s what I do. I fight with energy.
“It’s important to block out the noise, stay calm and keep going. Look at the performance and see if the players are still running, if they are still running hard.
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Tim Sherwood doubts whether Tottenham will be able to sack Thomas Frank after a 2-1 home defeat to London rivals West Ham.
“The last three games where we’ve been behind at halftime, how they come out and react is huge. The way they reacted was great and we could have gotten more out of it.”
“Sometimes it’s just football, that’s what happens when you’re under that spell.
“Are you still trying? Are you still trying? Do you still believe? The signs of that are clearly visible in every game.
“And of course, even Josep Guardiola, the best manager in the world, says that I’m nothing without my players. I’m nothing without my best players. And I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say they’re not doing enough at the same time.”
“So it’s a little tricky, but that’s okay. As long as you support the players, I’m happy to take on the responsibility.”
Solanke replaces Teru in Champions League squad
One of the players Frank is hoping will help turn things around against Dortmund is Dominic Solanke, who has confirmed his return to Spurs’ Champions League squad in place of Matthijs Tell.
UEFA Regulation 31.14c states that if a player is sick or injured for 60 days, a team may substitute a substitute for the international player.
Tell replaced Solanke in the team against Slavia Prague in December, but UEFA regulations allow Solanke to return to the squad in place of Tell, but no other Spurs players can.
Frank said of the situation Monday afternoon: “I made the decision. It wasn’t a good decision to have to make. Unfortunately, that’s football and you have to make it.”
“Due to the rules, the team only had a choice between Dom and Mathis, so I chose Dom.
“I think Mathis has performed very well in the last few games, which is crazy. If you could pick from all the players who are fit, he would start tomorrow.”
“But I had to choose between the two and it’s difficult for Matthijs because he’s not in the team at the moment.
“When it rains, it pours.”
Fans are against Frank, but he believes he can win them back.
Jamie Weir on Sky Sports News:
“Frank still seems confident that he has the full support of the ranks.
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Thomas Frank admitted that Tottenham’s 2-1 home defeat to struggling West Ham was “very painful” as Tottenham’s recent poor form continued.
“He was asked about lunch and whether he would have the reassurance that he would continue working beyond tomorrow night’s game against Borussia Dortmund, but he didn’t really say yes.
“He seems incredibly confident that they have a aligned vision and will be given time to turn it around at Tottenham. He’s a man under pressure at the moment.
“If you look back at history, you’ll see that it’s very difficult to recover from that situation (booing after a full-time appearance). In the past, no matter which club the fans were against, it was very difficult to win them back.
“It’s becoming commonplace for players to be booed at half-time and full-time. He seems confident that he can turn things around. It’s clear that the fans, many of them, have animosity towards Thomas Frank.”
“He remains optimistic that if the results improve, so will the fans.”
