Thomas Frank accepted that Tottenham did not deserve to beat bottom club Wolves on Saturday night, accepting that their late draw was a fair result.
Joao Palhinha stroked in a wonderful equaliser in injury time to deny Wolves a first win of the season after Santiago Bueno had poked in earlier in the second half.
Frank said the point was a good one and deserved, but criticised Spurs for lacking control in the contest. He also pointed to a change in system from Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, which confused his side a little.
Speaking in the Sky Sports studio, former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil tore into Spurs and said they must be better against sides who come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and defend.
Gary O’Neil doesn’t hold back in analysis of Tottenham draw, ‘I struggle’
O’Neil said: “The part I struggle with is that they didn’t deserve to [win] in any way. I’ve seen them twice at home this season and in both games the onus is meant to be on them against Bournemouth and Wolves.
“But they struggled in both. Their good performances have come against PSG and Manchester City when they have to defend and be without the ball.
“So I think there’s a lot of improvement needed at Spurs if they’re going to be challenging at the top end of the table this year.
“Teams are going to come and frustrate and they need to produce more quality than they did this evening.”
Thomas Frank wants more from Tottenham as Gary O’Neil backs him to be a success
Thomas Frank argued that Palhinha’s ‘special’ goal was deserved but also said it was needed after a frustrating day. “We needed something special, and we got that,” he told BBC Sport.
And he then called for more from his players in the attacking departments after back-to-back Premier League draws.
“I think the foundation is in a good place. Defending well. Working hard, running hard,” he said. “The offensive part of it is the thing we have to add layers to. I’d have loved us to do more today. That’s part of the development.”
O’Neil agreed with Frank despite his earlier criticism, saying: “I have no doubt that Thomas will get this Spurs team where he wants it. It’s still very early in his tenure. They shipped a lot of goals and chances last season.
“He’s rectified that, they don’t concede as many chances. Now, having played Bournemouth and Wolves at home, now we need to add another layer to it and be more attacking.”