Thomas Frank has endured a miserable debut season with Tottenham Hotspur since replacing Ange Postecoglou with fans continuing to call for the return of Mauricio Pochettino
Thomas Frank claims chants from Tottenham fans for Mauricio Pochettino’s return are ‘well-deserved’. The Argentine enjoyed a brilliant stint in North London between 2014 and 2019.
He led the North London side to the Champions League final, as well as second place in the Premier League. And Pochettino remains revered by fans, with the club having failed to hit those heights under a succession of managers including Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
Ange Postecoglou led the club to the Europa League last season before he was eventually sacked. His replacement Frank has endured a miserable debut season, with Spurs sitting 15th in the Premier League under his watch.
That has triggered fans into chanting for Pochettino’s return at games, something that Frank can fully understand. He said: “I met Mauricio a few times, great guy, a great coach.
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“I think he’s a legend (here). I don’t think he won a trophy, but he was part of transforming the club, from where it was at that stage, to where it ended up in terms of being close to winning the Premier League title. Getting into the Champions League final.
“If you are close, then you are very close to winning it. Sometimes it’s football, it’s margins. Pochettino did a top job here and is a true legend, so if the fans sing his name it’s well deserved.”
And while Frank can understand the affection that Spurs fans hold for their former boss, he has called on supporters to lend their support to the side as they aim to scramble themselves away from the relegation zone. The North London side currently sit six points clear of the drop.
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“There's no doubt we are desperate to win games,” Frank said. “Desperate. And I'm focusing on Newcastle tomorrow.
“That's a great opportunity ahead of us against a good team. That's the main thing. Can we go out there and get three points tomorrow? That would be very good.
“And then climb from there and look forward. That's what we need to do. And that's the main focus.
“When you haven't won enough, you need to be desperate, because if you're not desperate, you don't understand the situation you're in, in terms of you don't win enough, you need to turn it, and win enough football games. That's what we want for the fans, that's what we want for the team, for the club.”