Thomas Frank drastically failed to improve Tottenham’s defensive woes in the 5-3 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Tottenham’s defeat to PSG has once again highlighted that there is plenty of work for Frank to do after another heavy drubbing in the French capital.
Despite taking the lead twice throughout the match, Spurs couldn’t hold on, with Vitinha netting a stunning hat-trick to condemn the Lilywhites to their first Champions League defeat of the campaign.
It was certainly an improved response from Arsenal’s 4-1 demolition of Spurs on 23 November, but there is plenty of concern regarding Frank’s reign.
Frank is under intense scrutiny, and he could be heading for the exit door if he doesn’t improve Tottenham’s issues at the back.
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There were certainly some positives to take from the loss in Paris, most notably Randal Kolo-Muani’s stunning brace.
But Cristian Romero had a particularly poor game, gifting the ball to the home side for the third goal, before gifting a penalty late on.
The defeats to Arsenal and PSG marked the first time since 2003 that Tottenham have conceded four or more goals in consecutive matches in all competitions.
One of the key reasons Ange Postecoglou was sacked was because he failed to adapt his tactics to make Spurs more defensively solid.
However, Frank is experiencing the same issues, with Tottenham only winning one game at home in the league this season, and fans are already calling for him to be dismissed.
It’s expected that Arsenal and PSG would be much better than Spurs, but the lack of fight shown in the North London derby was abysmal.
Registering an expected goals total of 0.06 is an embarrassment, and despite improving their attacking threat in Paris, they failed to address their frailties at the other end of the pitch.
Frank is known for being a pragmatic and adaptable coach from when he worked at Brentford, but recent performances have shown the complete opposite.
Thomas Frank’s underlying numbers show things won’t get better
After an excellent start to the season, the poor home form and tough fixtures have soured the mood in N17.
According to Opta, Tottenham should be in 18th place with an expected points total of 12.9 due to their overperformance in front of goal.
Their clinical nature in the Premier League has masked their problems in defence, but they are now finally getting punished against top-quality opposition.
Frank’s tactics were effective in the first half of the PSG match, and there is hope that the upcoming match against Fulham could help them secure a much-needed win and clean sheet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, if Spurs fail to keep clean sheets in their away matches to Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Crystal Palace, then his future would undoubtedly be at risk.