When Ange Postecoglou was praising Thomas Frank at the end of January he probably didn't expect to be replaced at the Tottenham helm by the Dane just over four months later. That is what may happen over the coming days if Daniel Levy chooses to appoint Frank as Postecoglou's successor.
On Friday evening, the Australian's Tottenham departure was confirmed following much speculation. Even guiding Spurs to the Europa League trophy wasn't enough for the Australian after they finished 17th in what was a dire Premier League campaign.
Rewind the clock to late January and the pressure was already building on Postecoglou following a run of eight defeats in 10 Premier League games. Heading to Brentford for their next encounter, the 59-year-old was asked in his pre-match press conference about the job Frank had done during his time in west London.
Postecoglou was very complimentary and hailed Brentford for having "a clear idea about what they want to do" and then mentioned that they understand the importance of having a plan as "you stay the course". Following his appointment as Spurs boss in June 2023, Postecoglou himself had a clear plan in place in his quest to win silverware and ensure that Tottenham's days of hiring and firing managers would come to an end for good as they targeted sustained long-term success.
Unfortunately that has not happened at Spurs as Levy has elected against sticking by their plan following an incredibly mixed season and instead looked to make a managerial change once again. Ironically, Frank could now be the boss Levy and the board want to "stay the course" after opting to part with Postecoglou rather than looking to push on with him as head coach.
"People forget, it wasn't that long ago that to have Brentford as a Premier League outfit would have been unheard of, but I think the whole club deserves credit, definitely Thomas, but the whole club," explained Postecoglou at the end of January. "It's a well-run club, they've got a clear identity, they've got a clear idea about what they want to do and who they are and the way they do their business.
"I think there's a few clubs now who are understanding that that's the way forward. You set yourself up with a plan, you find the individuals that will drive that and you stay the course."
Speaking in April the day after the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, Postecoglou again outlined the importance of Tottenham needing to "stick to something" and keeping faith rather than constantly chopping and changing managers.
"I just don’t think it’s about the managers themselves," he said. "I’ve almost lasted two years. It’s pretty good for Tottenham! At some point, the club needs to stick to something.
"If I say it now it sounds self-serving and defeats the purpose, so maybe not now … but I think that if you want to change the course of your events, you need to change materially a lot of things in terms of the way your outlook is as a club.
"It’s fair to say this year hasn’t worked out but that’s the other thing. We finished fifth last year. In another year, that would have been a Champions League spot. With people, it just doesn’t register.
"If you have five years at a club and you have maybe one or two disappointing years but you have three really strong years you’d say: ‘I’ll take that.’ But it seems like [at Spurs], you have one good year, you have one poor year and then that’s it. Let’s move on to the next.
"That’s what I accepted so I can’t sit here and say: ‘Woe is me.’ It’s fair to say at the moment I’m not doing a good job of turning that mind-shift around. But I am a fighter. I will continue fighting until told otherwise. As has been rightly pointed out, there’s life after this for everybody, including Tottenham and including me."