Thomas Frank has made it clear what kind of football he wants Tottenham Hotspur to play after coming under scathing criticism over recent days.
The 52-year-old is quickly finding out that the pressures associated with managing Tottenham are very different to what he experienced at Brentford.
He has been criticised incessantly in the media over recent days for his negative approach, with some pundits questioning whether Frank is capable of coaching a team to play on the front foot.
Following Tottenham’s 4-1 loss in the North London derby, Ramon Vega concluded that Frank is not the right fit for Spurs. Vega also accused Frank of being gutless, limited, and losing the Tottenham dressing room.
Thomas Frank is not paying attention to the criticism of Tottenham’s approach
Frank’s predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, had a habit of biting back at critics and would often come down fighting in press conferences.
However, the Dane insists that he is not paying any attention to the scathing criticism that has been levelled at him and his style over the past few weeks.
When asked about claims by Vega and others that he is not a good fit for Tottenham Hotspur, Frank told Football.London: “I have 100% not seen it, because I don’t read anything. “[My press officer] will let me know if there is anything that is valuable for me to know.
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“One thing for sure, when I walked into this club, all I knew besides we would lose football matches was that I would be criticised. So I literally don’t care what they say. I listen to the trusted people that know me, close to me and others, the only thing I’d say is that it is slightly easier to be on the outside.”
The former Brentford boss also launched a passionate defence of his philosophy, pointing out that he has always wanted his team to create chances and score goals.
He insisted that Tottenham’s game plan in the North London derby was not to sit back, explaining that his side’s performance against PSG was much more in line with how he wants them to play.
Frank added: “I think everyone has seen my games over all the years I’ve been in charge, no matter if it was when I was with the under-eights team in Frederiksværk 30 years ago or now, I want to play offensive, front-footed football. But probably also in those 30 years they could pick games from the under-eights at Frederiksværk to Brentford where it didn’t work for whatever reason.
“It didn’t work Sunday against Arsenal. The plan was to be front-footed. We weren’t. And that we adjusted. After Sunday, I was angry, pained, hurt. [In Paris] I was irritated, but the feeling in the body was better because we really, really, really competed. There was more of the identity I want to show.”