Thomas Frank is fighting for his life as Tottenham Hotspur manager. The Danish coach will remain in charge ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, but pressure is mounting.
Victory at Deutsche Bank Park will secure Spurs' place in the round of 16, but their Premier League form is alarming. On Saturday, the Lilywhites required a stoppage-time equaliser from Cristian Romero to salvage a share of the spoils against Burnley at Turf Moor. That means they've won just two of their last 14 outings, currently without a win in five.
Well, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and then Arsenal their February opponents, the eight-point gap between Tottenham and the bottom three is looking precariously narrow. One consistent performer in this otherwise inconsistent team is Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman broke the deadlock in Lancashire at the weekend, edging close to an all-time club record.
The Spurs record Micky van de Ven is seeking to break
So, how many more does he need to become the highest-scoring Tottenham defender in a single season?
Tottenham defenders to score 6+ goals in a single season (1980-present)
Since 1980, only four Tottenham defenders have managed to score eight or more goals in a single campaign. Sol Campbell, who isn't very popular at White Hart Lane these days, is the most-recent man to do so in 1998/99.
Graham Roberts actually did so twice, mustering ten goals in 1983/84, but the record is held by club legend Gary Mabbutt, netting 11 times in '82/83. The centre-back won both the UEFA Cup and FA Cup during 18 years at Spurs, appearing for the club 611 times, second only to Steve Perryman (866) on the club's all-time list.
Well, van de Ven (81 appearances) is along way of Mabbutt in that regard, but could break his single-season goalscoring record for a defender. Having netted seven times already, who is to say he cannot bag five more before the campaign comes to an end. In fact, Saturday's other scorer Romero has now netted six times in this campaign, meaning both centre-backs could be targeting this accolade.