©IMAGO
The pressure continues to mount on Thomas Frank after Tottenham salvaged a late point against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. Spurs relied on a 90th-minute equaliser from captain Cristian Romero to spare their blushes after squandering their lead at Turf Moor, eventually settling for a 2-2 draw against the relegation candidates.
Centre-back Micky van de Ven scored the opener after 38 minutes, his fifth goal of the campaign, before Axel Tuanzebe replied in first-half stoppage time. Lyle Foster then put Scott Parker's men on course for an unlikely victory before Romero struck at the death to salvage a draw. But the visiting fans were far from happy, taunting their own manager with 'sacked in the morning' chants, which will do little to show the board they have faith he can turn things around. Spurs have now won just two of their last 14 games in the league, losing seven of those.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the 52-year-old put up a staunch defence of his team: "I don't think it was a bad performance. It was maybe not the result we hoped for," the Dane said. "I think the performance, if you look at it throughout the game, especially the first half, was good.
"The way we ended the game, good. Average second half, which you've seen many times. Then unfortunately it lacked with two moments where we didn't defend it well enough. That's what we are working very, very hard on, to try to get on top of. While we are fighting everything we can to perform in the Champions League and Premier League. That's the way it is."
This is a game Spurs should have won easily on paper, with €265m in transfer expenditure in the summer and a huge €878.5m in squad value - over €625m more than Burnley. Yet it told the familiar tale of Spurs' season, failing to generate enough clear-cut chances on goal and surrendering leading positions.
Club Comparison
Burnley FC
Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League
Premier League
€249.65m
Market Value
€878.50m
First Tier
League Level
First Tier
€128.65m
Expenditures 25/26
€265.60m
Scott Parker
Managers
Thomas Frank
Full Club Comparison
Frank was brought in off the back of his incredible work at Brentford in his six years at the club, but those memories are fading badly with this current dismal run of form. Frank has overseen a run of just two wins from their last 13 games, and their home form has been nothing short of horrific.
Quite simply, the only positive about his reign so far has been their Champions League run. Spurs find themselves inside the top eight after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday and are in a great position to qualify for the Round of 16. But their league form simply has to improve if he is to avoid the sack after just seven months in the job.