Thomas Frank is convinced the story from his previous clubs will repeat itself at Tottenham – with unconvincing starts giving way to consistent results and achievement.
The manager is conscious that losing can become a habit and he takes his team to Crystal Palace on Sunday in need of a tonic, having suffered six defeats in the past 10 Premier League matches, winning only twice during the sequence.
It has been a mixed bag for Frank since his summer appointment, the worries piling up, with one of the biggest being the capacity of his players to handle the additional demands of midweek Champions League fixtures. Although Spurs are set fair to qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition, it has been possible to view their involvement as a poisoned chalice.
Is there sufficient quality in the squad or resolve when the going gets tough? Frank’s players were slated for their reaction to going behind at Nottingham Forest after their last European midweek game, when they subsided to a 3-0 loss.
Frank is acutely aware of the size of the challenge and yet he is fortified when he remembers how he drove improvement at Brøndby, his first job as a club manager which he began in 2013, and Brentford where he took over in 2018.
“At Brøndby, I didn’t win the first eight games and then we were unbeaten in nine,” he said. “At Brentford, we lost eight out of 10 games and then we were unbeaten in 10. So I am convinced we will see a similar pattern here. I’m not in doubt of that. Because I know how to make a competitive team. We will make a very competitive team here, as well.
“What makes it even more complex here is the amount of games we are playing … with rotations, and physical load and mental load that just impact a team and especially if it’s not used to do that.”
Frank, who has made it his mission to instil greater resilience, was asked whether losing can become a habit. “I definitely think there are habits that can go both ways,” he replied. “There are good habits and bad habits and, of course, winning is a good habit and losing is a bad habit.
“But underneath that are the habits of every staff member, every player. How do you react when there are setbacks in games? That is something we are really working very, very hard on. There are bits that are going the right way [in this area] but we are not consistent enough to do that every third or fourth day.
“It’s small bits and good habits for a player. You want a player to do recovery runs 10 out of 10 times and he does it five out of 10 times. He won’t do it like this [Frank clicks his fingers] and then he’s doing it 10 out of 10 times. It will maybe be five and a half, six, six and a half, seven. That’s how it works.”
Frank has said he is working “24-7” in the hunt for solutions and never in his life has he thought more about the game. “The good thing is I’ve always been a good sleeper so that’s helpful,” he said. “But of course you can feel that the thoughts are just underneath you. We’ve all experienced that with work. Probably you guys in your job [in the media] … there are nights where underlying there are these thoughts going on.
“They’ve been there a long time [for me] because there’s a lot of things to sort out. When you get small setbacks and don’t get the right response you try something new or you stick to it. So that’s the bit. It’s normal. It’s not the first time in my career I haven’t found the team instantly but it’s coming over time. I know it will come. Probably sooner rather than later.”
