Thomas Frank has spoken about the new challenges he faces at Tottenham Hotspur and his aims for exciting, offensive football.
Reports indicate that the Tottenham board are determined to show faith in Frank and give him time to turn things around at N17.
The Spurs head coach has previously warned that the team’s issues are not an easy fix, referencing the fact that the team finished in 17th place last season.
Many pundits are not convinced that the North London club are heading in the right direction, but the former Brentford boss has his sight firmly set on the end goal.
Thomas Frank reveals what Tottenham’s ambition is this season
The Lilywhites are now just four points away from Chelsea in fifth place following their win at Selhurst Park, and the Tottenham boss has now admitted that finishing in the top six is his objective this season.
While Frank hinted that the expectations at Spurs may not match where the team is currently, he made it clear that his challenge is to make the club competitive at the top end of the Premier League table consistently.
When asked if the scale of the challenge at Tottenham is bigger than what people think, the Dane told Sky Sports: “It depends on what people think. The perception of us, of course, is that we are a top six club, which is the aim. Yeah, I think that’s fair to say. But that’s what we’re aiming for. We are almost halfway through the season. Learned a lot about the team, about the players.
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“Also, playing every third or fourth day, how do we do that and how we can make sure we become competitive? And that’s why the expectations can be higher than where we maybe are right now, this moment in time. That can hopefully have changed in a good way towards the end of the season.
“But that doesn’t change what I think is a massive task to get us to where we want to be on a consistent level. Because let’s say, no matter if we finish in a good position – but it’s to do it every year. That’s the challenge, playing in Europe and finishing in the top six every year. That’s the big challenge. Maybe it’s a blip, that we finished eighth, fifth and seventeenth, just to understand the whole context, I think is very important.”
Frank has been criticised for his conservative approach at Tottenham and for failing to adapt to the demands of a big club since his summer move from Brentford.
However, the 52-year-old is confident that Spurs will play offensive football once the players adapt to his system and he has enough time on the training pitch with the squad.
When asked if building something solid at Tottenham is different to what he has done at Brentford and Brondby in the past, Frank responded: “It’s different, but it’s the same tools I would say you use to build something consistent. It is about building a top culture with all the right characters, with an elite mindset. It is being able to go every third and fourth day. That’s the biggest thing we built. Every day, we try to get a little step further down the line. It’s the same thing you need to do.
“Of course, there’s more scrutiny, and there’s more focus on the smallest step back, so one of the tools you definitely need to be aware of using is keeping the noise out. I do that, the coaching staff do that, the players do that, everyone around the club does that. I think that’s a big thing. I think the players are very good in many ways. They’re good people; they want the best. I don’t think that’s a problem anyway.”
“If you’ve seen my teams over the years, [they’ve] always played offensive football, always created top scorers, always scored a lot of goals, so that will also happen here. I think it’s a couple of challenges, a little bit the time to train it. Hey, it is what it is. We do everything we can to get around it – clips, video, individual walkthrough, whatever it is. We use a week like we have now to work on it.
“And then I think the players also will develop and get better. And sometimes it’s also a bit of who’s available, because I also had a tough spell in Brentford, just as an example, when Ivan (Toney) was out, Bryan (Mbeumo) was out. I think (Yoane) Wissa was out as well, then we didn’t score as many goals. That’s just the way it is.”