Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is under pressure at Spurs after joining from Brentford last summer
FA Cup action has made its comeback and Tottenham Hotspur face a stern examination in the third round against Premier League rivals Aston Villa on Saturday evening at 5.45pm. With Unai Emery's men in exceptional form, Spurs will need to be at their best, even with the advantage of playing at home.
Leading Spurs is former Brentford boss Thomas Frank. Both he and his squad have found consistency elusive in the Premier League this campaign, sitting 14th with just seven victories from 21 fixtures.
The manager finds himself under considerable scrutiny despite arriving only last summer, though he remains convinced he has earned the right to continue at the helm.
When questioned about the recent poor run ahead of the Villa fixture, Frank responded: "Put it this way, would we love to be higher in the table and have more points? 100 per cent. We work hard every single day to make sure we perform well. We want to land in the best possible position at the end of the season.
"We need to look at the FA Cup game, a good opportunity against Villa, a team who is flying in this moment in time. The tournament is very important for the fans, we won it eight times in our history. This is a tough spell, we will get through this."
With the cup tie approaching, Football London examines the man currently steering the Spurs ship.
Arsenal controversy
Prior to the midweek fixture against Bournemouth, Frank was photographed clutching a cup bearing the crest of north London rivals Arsenal. For a manager already facing significant scrutiny, this incident proved particularly unhelpful.
"I definitely did not notice it," Frank explained afterwards. "It would be completely stupid of me to take it if I knew. It's a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked about it. I would never do something that stupid. I think we're definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with a logo of another club."
The match proved disappointing for Spurs, with the Cherries securing a 3-2 victory courtesy of strikes from Evanilson, Eli Junior Kroupi and new Manchester City signing Antoine Semenyo.
Wife
Frank is married to Nanna Theil, who has stood by him throughout his career, according to The Athletic. During the early stages of their relationship, he balanced coaching responsibilities with pursuing a psychology degree and when they started a family they faced a crucial decision about whether full-time coaching was the right path forward.
Nanna trained as a psychologist and has also been employed by the children's association. Teddy Hebo, chairman of Hvidovre where Frank previously managed, credits her as the driving force behind his achievements and his most devoted advocate.
She provides him with honest feedback and when he "goes a bit wild", she helps ground him.
Multi-million pound salary
From humble beginnings earning a mere £100 for his first coaching role, Frank now commands a multi-million-pound salary at Tottenham Hotspur. It's reported that he pockets around £8m annually, placing him as the third-highest paid manager in the Premier League.
Despite currently navigating through a challenging period with Spurs, Frank has a proven track record, having transformed Brentford into a mainstay in the Premier League since his arrival in 2018.
He now faces the daunting task of steering Tottenham out of their current predicament.