Tottenham Hotspur have wasted little time after Tuesday’s demoralising defeat to Newcastle United by sacking Thomas Frank, with the defeat leaving the club just five points clear of the relegation zone – and with TEAMtalk sources revealing both the club’s long and short-term plans over a successor.
The Dane was brought in over the summer as a replacement for Ange Postecoglou but failed to inspire Tottenham Hotspur to any sort of improvement and the 2-1 defeat to the Magpies on Tuesday evening has proved the final straw. Frank departs the club with just 13 wins from 38 matches to his name – a win percentage record of just 34.21%.
We revealed on Wednesday morning how the club were meeting to discuss Frank’s future and with his dismissal a growing possibility after they slipped to 16th in the table.
And breaking the news on his X account, the ultra-reliable David Ornstein has now confirmed the decision to axe the 52-year-old has been made.
Ornstein wrote: ‘Thomas Frank sacked as Tottenham Hotspur head coach. #THFC working through various possible contingency plans to replace 52yo Dane as club sit 14th in Premier League – 5 points above relegation zone after 2 wins from 17 matches.’
Shortly afterwards, in a short statement on the club’s website: Tottenham confirmed Frank had been relieved of his duties: “The Club has taken the decision to make a change in the Men’s Head Coach position and Thomas Frank will leave today.
“Thomas was appointed in June 2025, and we have been determined to give him the time and support needed to build for the future together.
“However, results and performances have led the Board to conclude that a change at this point in the season is necessary.
“Throughout his time at the Club, Thomas has conducted himself with unwavering commitment, giving everything in his efforts to move the Club forward. We would like to thank him for his contribution and wish him every success in the future.”
Next Tottenham manager: De Zerbi in frame; Pochettino wanted
We revealed last week that, of those contingency plans, the club will look to appoint an interim coach through to the end of the season and with the recently-appointed first-team coach, Johnny Heitinga a strong candidate to steer the ship through the remainder of what has now become a battle for survival in the Premier League.
Former caretaker boss, Ryan Mason – who recently left West Brom after a failed stint at The Hawthorns – would also willingly return to the club, even in an interim capacity, should the club take up that option.
However, we also understand that Roberto De Zerbi, who on Tuesday night, by coincidence, also left his role as Marseille manager, could also now come into the equation.
We revealed back on January 7 that De Zerbi was a genuine candidate for the job this summer when sources confirmed his plans to leave the French side and return to the Premier League. Now his departure has been confirmed, albeit earlier than expected, the Italian is likely to be very much in their thinking, though it remains to be seen whether he would jump immediately back into another role or would prefer to assess his options come the summer.
If Spurs are to wait, however, our correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, revealed last week that Mauricio Pochettino would unequivocally accept a return to Spurs if offered the role.
However, there is a caveat on when the Argentine would consider taking charge, as our exclusive report revealed.
If they do decide to wait for the 54-year-old’s return, though, it would make sense for an interim to take charge of the club in the short-term and with the brief of ensuring the club avoid the unthinkable: relegation to the Championship.
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Thomas Frank had made plea to keep Tottenham job
Despite all that, Frank, speaking in the wake of Tuesday’s loss to Newcastle, insisted he remained the right man to steer the club through their crisis and has urged the board not to lose their heads and fire him.
“I’m 1000 per cent sure [I will stay],” he told the media after the 2-1 defeat. “I am also 1000 per cent sure that I never expected us to be in a situation like this with 11 or 12 injuries on the back end of this and what we’ve been facing, but I know when you need to build something and need to get through things, you need to show unbelievable strong resilience.
“I think it is fair to say there are a few before me up here not only for Tottenham but in many other clubs that have lost their head many times and I think you need to have a calm head, carry on, keep fighting and keep doing the right thing, make sure we stick together because we can only do this if we stick together. That is the board, that is the leaders, that is the players, that is the staff, that is me, and that is the fans.
“We’ve got to get through this!”
Frank also insisted he will remain in charge for Spurs’ next Premier League game, at home to Arsenal on Sunday, 22 February.
“I’m convinced I will still be in charge [for the Arsenal game],” he continued. “I understand the question, and I understand it’s easy to point at me, but I also think it’s never only the head coach or the ownership or the directors or the players or the staff. It’s everyone.
“If you do something right, you build something that can last. Of course, we are not in a top position now. Everyone knows, directors, ownership, and myself, what position we are in, what we need to improve and what we need to do better.”