A solid result for Thomas Frank in his first North London Derby, albeit played under unusual circumstances in South East Asia, as opposed to England’s capital city.
One might be right in suspecting that the Premier League will have taken note of the success of the initiative, and we may see this idea revisited in the future as part of the division’s fixture list.
Spurs got little wrong against a fierce rival, and the goal from Pape Matar Sarr was a joy to behold.
We face Newcastle United in Korea on Sunday (noon UK) before our final pre-season match against FC Bayern in Munich on Thursday, 7 August (5:30 pm UK).
Then it’s to Udine, Italy, to face PSG in the UEFA Super Cup on 13 August (8 pm UK) before our Premier League opener against Burnley at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 16 August (3 pm UK).
Transcript of the press conference
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And just on the numbers tonight,
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very delighted to announce a new record for a live attendance at a Hong Kong
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football match,
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Two days ago, three days ago, 49,704.
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So for our total attendance over two matches, 99,679.
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Huge thanks to all the clubs and the Hong Kong Football Festival.
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Now let’s throw it to the room.
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Thank you all.
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Thomas, well done.
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To the front row, please.
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Hi Thomas, congratulations.
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Your first North London derby win.
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I mean,
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we’ve seen a lot of videos of the team doing this real kind of defensive work,
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kind of throwing each other around,
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trying to stop the ball games and mini goals,
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things like that.
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How much does that kind of a match like this, the rewards are kind of reaped?
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Yeah, that’s very, very pleasing, of course, because…
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I think I’ve also been very clear this was not friendly.
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It felt like a competitive match.
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I think if you saw it, it was competitive.
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If you played in, it was very competitive.
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But some of the bits we’ve been working hard on is the combination of the defensive
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organization.
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So high pressure, middle and low.
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So there are clear principles,
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but also that desire to keep a clean sheet because that makes you have a big
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opportunity for winning football matches.
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Just going to ask you about that goal as well.
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Pat Matassar’s goal.
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What did you make of it?
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An unbelievable goal.
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Fantastic.
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Fantastic.
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Well taken.
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All the credit to Papa.
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He’s impressed me, I must admit.
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He’s been really good in the last four weeks.
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Hi, Thomas.
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You just mentioned that it wasn’t friendly.
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It was a very competitive game.
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So how big a moment is this for the team psychologically?
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I think for the team, we are building together.
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I think this was,
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you know,
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all the positive results or performances you can get just reinforce the messages we
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try to get into the players and the team fielded.
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And I think that desire to defend was good, I think, in general.
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I think first half in general, we played a very good first half overall.
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Second half, I felt we defended a bit too much.
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But that was good.
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And then I think as I said, pieces were good as well.
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I think we defended very well, but also very dangerous.
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I noticed in the first half that you and Justin were calling players over a lot
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during breaks in play and giving them instructions.
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Just wondered what you could tell us, what you were actually telling them.
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There was a few different bits that could be in our phase one building up,
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maybe with Mickey a little bit lower,
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so there was an out ball that way,
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or it could be when we went a little bit longer,
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Lubitschers should be a little bit higher,
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so small tactical instructions.
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Hi Thomas,
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this trip was arranged before you came to the club,
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so if the club come to you next season and say,
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would you consider Hong Kong for pre-season again,
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what would your response be?
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Yeah, definitely.
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It’ll be a yes.
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I’ll definitely consider that.
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I think everyone who have arranged this has been top.
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Just either sell out tonight,
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fantastic fans,
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everyone making it feel like an extremely competitive match.
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It was very important for everyone.
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So all the things that had to be arranged well, it’s just been perfect.
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So, yeah, very pleased.
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How is it as an environment in terms of preparing for a season as well,
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in terms of performance,
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so the facilities you have and everything that goes with it?
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I think that’s been good.
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Very good hotel.
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The training pitch has been good, which is important.
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And then, of course, the stadium pitch here in the stadium.
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Hi, Thomas.
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Just wanted to ask you,
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just being out here and experiencing a game of that magnitude and just being around
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the city and seeing the fans and things,
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does it sort of help you,
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I don’t know,
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acclimatise to the job you’ve taken on,
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just the sort of size of it,
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the magnitude of it?
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Yeah, definitely.
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I think I have a good idea, but you don’t really know before you step into it.
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And I think see how important it is for the fans.
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You know, all the fans that are waiting every day for us in the morning and in the evening.
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The fans that came to the Open training, the fans that were here at the game.
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You understand more and more,
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first and foremost,
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how big a club Tottenham is and also the importance of the club.
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Sorry, I’m going to try to ask one more.
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You’ve spoken before about Mohamed Koudas’ unpredictability.
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Now that you’ve worked with him for a few weeks,
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just wanted you to tell us a little bit more about him and in a game like this,
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what he kind of offers to the team.
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Yeah, I think he was really good today, Koudas.
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I think his hold-up play and taking care of the ball,
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getting out of tricky situations,
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his one-on-one skills,
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creating opportunities for the team,
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I think was top class.
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Yeah.
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And on top of that, I think he’s working extremely hard.
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There was one recovery run from a set piece where he was sprinting all the way back.
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I can’t remember which one Arsenal player it was.
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And then won the ball back.
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And that just helped the team so much.
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So he will make a lot of the fans be very excited with his offensive actions.
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And he will also help the team defensively.
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Sorry Thomas, just one quick one.
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Dominic Solanke, how close is he to coming back?
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It’s getting closer.
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You’ll see if it’s close enough for Newcastle.
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If not, I’m positive for Bayern.
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Hi Thomas,
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if it’s okay I just want to ask you about one,
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he’s an Arsenal player now,
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but Christian Norgard,
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so we had a big embrace with him at full time.
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How happy are you to see him kind of getting this opportunity with the Champions
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League club and are you surprised at all that he’s made that step?
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No, he’s a little bit emotional.
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I’ve known him since he was 15 and I think he’s 31 now and I’ve been coaching him
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So I can say that I know him pretty well.
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So this is the first time I played against him and he probably played for me more than…
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So it was a bit strange to see him in the other team.
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He’s a top player.
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I understand why Arsenal went for him.
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I’m so happy that he got this great opportunity late in his career.
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Hello, Thomas.
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After the game is over,
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when the sports players greeting with the fans,
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there was a moment that Romero putting the armband on Son’s arm.
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Actually, I saw that.
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And then you said that before you didn’t decide anything about captaincy yet.
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So was there any update or is it still TBC?
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Yeah, that is to be confirmed.
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I haven’t taken a decision yet,
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so I like to understand the group and the players a little bit more.
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I know I need to make a decision before the first official game against PSG in the
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Super Cup,
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and of course I will do that.
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So it’s natural that both Romeo and Son are captains, so I kept it like it was.
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Great, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.
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Thank you very much, Tomas.
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Safe travels.
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Thank you, guys.
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Thank you very much.