Key figures at Tottenham are behind Thomas Frank for now but the pressure is growing on the Spurs manager
Gutted stand-in Tottenham captain Micky van de Ven admitted they were “nowhere near” the levels required during Saturday’s painful FA Cup loss at home to Aston Villa.
After a sorry winter period and run of two wins in 12 Premier League matches left Spurs in 14th position, the FA Cup represented an opportunity to salvage the club’s campaign, but first-half goals by Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers sent the Midlands outfit through.
Tottenham produced a spirited second-half rally, with Wilson Odobert able to reduce the deficit while Joao Palhinha and Xavi Simons impressed, but no comeback followed and it has cranked up the heat on Frank.
Under-fire Frank had to hear Villa’s away support chant he was an Arsenal fan after his midweek gaffe of drinking a coffee cup at Bournemouth with the logo of Spurs’ rivals on the front.
Aside from off-the-field issues with Tottenham co-sporting director Fabio Paratici continuously linked with a January switch to Fiorentina, results have not been good for Frank, who has won only five of his last 20 matches and lost seven of his last 13 in all competitions.
“Gutted obviously that we’re out of the cup,” Van de Ven reflected. “First half nowhere near our level, nowhere near where we need to be and second half way better. I think we showed also some mentality, but if we showed it from the first minute, this game is totally different.”
Frank talked up the second-half display but was reminded of his aim of “competing in all four tournaments” this season after this loss made it two early domestic cup exits.
“Of course that’s disappointing,” Frank reflected. Poor form along with an at times non-existent attacking philosophy has resulted in swathes of the Tottenham fanbase losing faith with Frank.
With key figures at Spurs behind Frank for now, he has a week to prepare for the home visit of West Ham, which is followed by a crucial Champions League fixture at home to Borussia Dortmund and the Danish coach knows his team must start winning – despite a lengthy injury list.
Frank added: “We all know there’s only one way to have everyone happy. That is performing consistently and winning enough games. That’s the only way.
“And we could see, second half especially, the energy, how they feed off each other, the players and the fans. It was a fantastic experience to be in the middle of it.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get that fantastic comeback, which sometimes kick-starts a momentum and that’s what we are working very hard to do.”
Dominic Solanke returned on Saturday to make his first appearance since August 23 but Richarlison’s hamstring injury left Frank to take aim at the football authorities.
“I think it’s something for the football authorities to look into as well,” Frank insisted. “We played five games in 13 days, four in 10. One of the few clubs who did that. This is our third time this season. We’re doing everything we can to compete in it, but that’s a tough schedule.”