Thomas Frank believes he retains the faith of the Tottenham hierarchy and can turn around what he described as a “supertanker” of a club – despite being barracked by the home crowd after a last-gasp 2-1 loss to West Ham.
The fans in the South Stand chanted Frank should be “sacked in the morning” after a defeat that kept them 14th in the Premier League. Spurs have won three of their past 15 matches in the competition.
Frank did not sugar-coat the heartbreak after Callum Wilson, on as an 90th-minute substitute, scored the winner for West Ham in stoppage time. But the manager said he had taken heart from an open letter from the Spurs chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, in the morning, the tone of which was supportive, the overriding message being a call for patience during a period of transition. Spurs have made an unprecedented number of leadership position changes in the past year or so.
“I took six to eight positive things out of it,” Frank said. “What I take out of that letter is that we are a club and an executive team with Vinai on top that are aligned and know this is a big transitional phase.
“It’s a supertanker we’re turning in the right direction and there are a lot of good signs behind the scenes and also in some of the performances. But when you lose last-minute to one of your rivals, it is very emotional and there will be noise. That noise we need to keep out there and get our head down and keep walking, keep doing the right thing.
“I’ve probably had better times. But I understand [the chant]. I’m the man in charge. So the blame will go to me. That’s fair.
“If you’re not winning enough, we know you will not get enough support from the fans. But when we’re winning, it will change … when we start winning again. Which we will do. I’m not in doubt of that.
“It seems to be the perfect storm at the moment in many ways. We have a last-minute defeat when everyone feels that everyone has given everything, including the fans, to back the team. You get a sucker punch in injury time and it’s unbelievably tough to take. You have to keep going. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
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Frank was booed for substituting the winger Mathys Tel; there were boos at other points during the game, although after Cristian Romero’s equaliser midway through the second half it appeared Spurs might go on to win. Frank lamented the biggest single failing of his tenure.
“It’s a sign that the goal is scored by Cuti, our captain and centre-back,” he said. “And we didn’t have enough chances or the cutting edge from the offensive players. That is no criticism, it’s just reality. We didn’t have the cutting edge, the perfect weighted pass, the sharp finish. We need to keep working on that.”
Frank did say the players were still fighting, despite three straight defeats. “Let’s say the previous two games – against Bournemouth in the league and Aston Villa in the FA Cup – and now the game here. If the players stop running or stop doing anything or are not working hard and we are not the team that’s closest to winning … then you can say: ‘OK.’ But the team is working very hard.
“I still think, and I know it sounds a little bit crazy, that we are closer to something very good, than further away.”
