“I think we are in a transition period, because yes we are a Champions League club, but are we a Champions League club? We qualified because we won the Europa League. We didn’t qualify because we were one of the best four or five clubs in the Premier League last season. We finished 17th.”
One win in their last eight Premier League games confirms Tottenham manager Thomas Frank’s honest assessment of his side’s current situation.
Spurs, who sit 14th in the Premier League table, will aim to avoid a third successive defeat after defeats to Nottingham Forest and Liverpool when they take on Crystal Palace on Sunday, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Sunday, December 28th 4pm
4:30pm kickoff
Frank has come under increasing scrutiny due to a widely dissatisfied fan base, inconsistent results and lackluster performances.
But in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of this weekend’s trip to Selhurst Park, the Dane assessed his six-and-a-half months in charge at Tottenham and explained why he is confident he can turn things around…
How do you feel about getting the chance to manage Spurs?
“I’m very happy to have had this opportunity, to have this opportunity at Tottenham. I think I’ve earned it. In a way, I think I deserved this opportunity, this challenge. I’m very happy about that.”
“Of course, when you’re faced with a difficult moment, you think, ‘Oh,’ but I knew very well that what I was facing was not going to be easy. I was very aware of that.
“I’m an optimistic person, so I always believe in good things and I believe that we can create something very magical here. I’m 100% confident that it will happen and we will do it.
“I also think I’m good at analyzing situations and seeing where we are, what we need to improve on, and what direction we need to go in.
“Having said that, we also see that this is unfortunately not a quick fix, as I’ve said several times. This is a long journey. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to win football games. We have to win a lot of games, perform well, etc. in a long journey. But to get to where we want to get to, it just takes time to build.”
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So where are you?
“To be honest, I think we are in a transition period, because we are a Champions League club, but are we a Champions League club? We only qualified because we won the Europa League. We didn’t qualify because we were one of the best four or five clubs in the Premier League last season. We finished 17th. And now, while we are competing in the Premier League, we also have to qualify for the Champions League, which is the most difficult thing.”
“The last time we did that was three years ago and we finished eighth. That’s the reality. Something happened to the team in those three years. And the following year, in the absence of Europe, some of the key players in attack were (James) Maddison, (Dejan) Kulusevski, Sonny (Son Heung-min), but they’re no longer here (Son left the club, Maddison and Kulusevski are out long-term with injuries). So that’s just part of the reality.
“And we need to build a competitive team that can play every third or fourth day. And it’s just an ongoing work process to talk about it, whether we like it or not. That’s what we’re working hard on every day. I think we’re building some good pieces behind the scenes. So, I think we’re getting very good results in terms of how our coaching staff, performance staff, medical staff, for example, work together.”
“I think Micky van de Ven is better than ever. He is consistent and adapts to every moment. Same with Cuti (Cristian Romero). Same with Richarlison. He hasn’t been as consistent in the last two or three years. I think it’s a big win because we’ve got three players, but it’s just small stories because we haven’t won enough football games. So we have to build on all these small stories so that we can be competitive.”
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Do you think the scale of this challenge is bigger than people realize?
“It depends on what people think. Of course, our perception is that we are a top-six club and that is the aim.”
It’s definitely a top 6 club, but are the top 6 teams different?
“Yeah, I think that’s a given. But that’s what we’re aiming for. We’re almost halfway through the season. We’ve learned a lot about the team and the players. And playing every third or fourth day, how do you do that and how do you make sure you’re competitive? And that’s why the expectations can be higher than they are right now at this moment. Hopefully that changes for the better towards the end of the season.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that I think there’s a big challenge where we want to get to a consistent level, because it doesn’t matter if we finish in a good position or not, it’s about continuing to do that year after year. That’s the challenge, playing in Europe and finishing in the top six every year. That’s the big challenge.”
“Maybe it’s just my imagination that we finished 8th, 5th and 17th, but I think it’s very important to understand the overall context.”
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Is building something at Tottenham different to what you’ve done in the past at Brentford or Brondby?
“It’s different, but it’s the same tool that we use to build something consistent. It’s about building a top culture with the right characters with an elite mindset. That’s something we can continue to do every three, four days. That’s the biggest thing we’ve built. We’re trying to get one step further in the line every day. That’s the same thing you need to do.”
“Of course there’s more scrutiny and there’s more emphasis on the smallest step backwards. So one of the tools you have to be careful about using is to block out the noise. I’m doing that, the coaching staff are doing it, the players are doing it, everyone around the club is doing it. I think that’s a big thing.”
“I think the players are very good in many ways. They’re good people. They want the best. I don’t think it’s a problem anyway.”
So what did you like so far? What’s at the top of your to-do list to fix?
“I like the overall approach of the players who want to improve and want to do well. For example, the improvement in set pieces goes from here (bottom) to here (top).Obviously they are working hard on what you would call boredom, but the reason is wrong And the reason is that if you want to be successful you can’t create a negative goal difference with set pieces. So I think this is a big win and also a big example of buy-in from the players.
“Also, I think we have more of what I would call a clean sheet mentality, even if it’s not quite consistent enough, and understanding that it’s a game where you can’t just beat teams and win 3-0 or 4-0, you have to do things on the other side of the game as well. And I think you’re seeing that more and more in different parts of the game.”
“And I think the biggest thing we’re working on right now is still the offensive side of our game. It’s not like we’re not working on it. It’s not like we’re not putting a big focus on that, too. I think we started the season pretty well, then we had a slump, but I think we’re back on track now. That’s really the biggest thing we’re seeing. And the last part is continued great performance, winning, competitive culture.”
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Are the coaching challenges required to produce football at Tottenham different than before?
“If you’ve watched my teams over the years, (they) have always played attacking football, always produced top scorers, always scored a lot of goals, so I think that will happen here as well.
“I think there’s going to be some challenges and it’s going to take a little bit of time to train for it. Well, it is what it is. We’ll do everything we can to work around it, whether it’s clips, videos, individual walkthroughs, whatever it is. We’re taking a week like we are now to work on this.”
“And I think the players will grow and get better. And sometimes it’s a matter of who’s available, because I too went through a tough period at Brentford. As an example, when Ivan[Tony]was out, Brian[Mbeumo]was also out. I think (Ioan) Wissa was also out. We didn’t score that many goals then. That’s the way it is.”
In short, are your challenges performing well enough in the short term to warrant long-term opportunities?
“Yeah, I think that’s fair. I don’t think it works to say, ‘Oh, by the way, the pros are very good. We have a lot of great fundamental performance metrics, but by the way, we lost 15 games in a row.’ It doesn’t work that way. So we need to win, and preferably win a lot of football games.”
“But what I like is we haven’t had two bad performances in a row. Maybe we’ve lost two games in a row, but we haven’t had two bad performances. I think that’s a big difference.”
“We had a bad performance against Arsenal, very bad. But against PSG, for example, we had a very good performance. “For example, we had a bad performance against Nottingham Forest, but we had a good performance against Liverpool.” I know we lost, but that’s what we need to focus on. And that’s a good indicator of how we bounce back and how we work together with the players and the team. And I think that’s a sign that something is going in the right direction.”
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What will 2026 be like for Tottenham? How will they take the next step?
“I think it’s just working hard every day on that competitive culture, the little things with the players, all the good habits, the winning habits. It’s just working hard, having a comfortable and humble attitude, using our cohesiveness to really work as a team, and having that passion to want to get better.
“So, like I say, I think that path is a big thing that we’re working very hard on. And I know that if we do that well, we’re going to become more and more consistent. The challenge is we’re playing a lot of games, and we’re playing every three or four days, so that’s a challenge.”
“And it’s also important that we have two transfer windows. As I’ve said many times, I’m very happy with my team, I’m very happy with the players, but I think it’s fair to say that we need to take our time and do what we can to strengthen the squad.”
