It's understood that key figures at Tottenham are behind Thomas Frank for now despite growing pressure on the Dane
Thomas Frank is fighting to save his job as Tottenham manager and has four make-or-break matches coming up to salvage his relationship with angry fans.
The pressure is growing on the Spurs boss following the FA Cup third-round defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday night.
It is the first time the north Londoners have failed to reach the fourth round of England's premier cup competition since 2013-14, having done so in each of the previous 11 seasons.
It's been a disastrous winter period for Frank, with a run of two wins in 12 Premier League matches leaving Spurs down in 14th in the table.
Furious fans are planning a protest , led by supporter group Change for Tottenham, for the Premier League clash with fierce London rivals West Ham this weekend.
The protest, the first of the post-Daniel Levy era, is not directed at Frank and instead the group are calling on the club to be bold in the transfer window this month, as well as looking for clarity on the long-term football strategy.
It's understood that key figures at Spurs - including sporting director Johan Lange - are behind Frank for now and the Dane has a week to prepare for the home visit of the Hammers.
That London derby is followed by a crucial Champions League fixture at home to Borussia Dortmund and Frank knows his team must start winning despite a lengthy injury list.
Spurs also face Burnley at home in the Premier League and close out their Champions League group phase campaign with a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt - with the club currently on track to qualify for the play-offs as they are five points clear of the elimination spots.
But the four games remaining this month are all must-wins for Frank if he's to recover from what has been a miserable start to his tenure after joining in the summer from Brentford.
As well as winning, Spurs are desperate for new signings this month to get fans back on side. It's understood that the club's hierarchy have identified a new left-back, left winger, central midfielder and a centre-back if one left.
The club are wasting no time and are set to sign Santos' highly-rated left-sided full-back Souza, with the Brazilian talent due to undergo a medical before completing his £13million transfer.
Spurs, meanwhile, have rejected a loan bid for Radu Dragusin from Roma, seemingly learning from the awful timing of Brennan Johnson's exit.
They know victories and signings will go a long way to getting their season back on track, with the discontent growing following the 2-1 FA Cup defeat by Villa.
Stand-in Spurs captain Micky van de Ven admitted they were “nowhere near” the levels required during the clash with their Premier League rivals.
The misery continued for Frank in that match, with the under-fire boss hearing 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.
Results have not been good enough for Frank, who has won only five of his last 20 matches and lost seven of his last 13 in all competitions.
Van de Ven didn't hide his disappointment with that cup exit and admitted: “Gutted obviously that we’re out of the cup. First half nowhere near our level, nowhere near where we need to be and second half way better.
“I think we also showed some mentality, but if we showed it from the first minute, this game is totally different.”