The Tottenham Hotspur boss believes the supporters hold the key to success as the club's 2026 home campaign begins on Sunday
Thomas Frank believes the "boring, boring Tottenham" chants from the club's fans might seem like the 'biggest problem in the world' when in fact those same supporters hold the key to success.
The travelling fans chanted the putdown towards their players on a couple of occasions during Thursday night's drab goalless draw at Frank's former side Brentford as a depleted Spurs team once again struggled to create chances. When Frank went over to approach the 1,700 supporters after the final whistle to applaud them for making the trip across the capital he was met by loud boos.
On Sunday, the Lilywhites will look to turn the page on their home form and start 2026 afresh as they welcome Sunderland to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Last year, the club slumped to 11 home defeats in the Premier League, the most Tottenham have racked up in a calendar year in their entire history. Their tally of just four league wins at home during those 12 months was their second worst tally since 1915.
Following the anger of the travelling fans in midweek, who sang nostalgically for former players and managers throughout the night, there are fears the atmosphere could turn toxic inside Spurs' huge home stadium on Sunday afternoon if they falter against a Black Cats side that has punched above its weight this season with one of the best defensive records in the top flight.
Frank is not fearing that possibility though and believes the players can do their part in getting the supporters onside.
"There are a lot of other things to worry about in life that are much more important. What I’m focusing on is making sure we perform in the best possible way. All my focus is on that," said the 52-year-old. "It’s also to make sure if we perform well, if we do what we do, also when we’re struggling, it hasn’t changed because there was some chanting [on Thursday].
"When we play the game we need the fans behind us. They need to push and help us. It’s just facts, that’s the way it is. If they can see we run hard and do everything we can, then they should help us all the way and that’s hopefully enough to win the game."
Frank believes the reaction at the Gtech Community Stadium in midweek from the travelling faithful has blown the situation out of proportion and that Tottenham were in fact starting to turn around their home woes.
"It is a beautiful example of how football works. It was one snapshot of the game. Before that, at home, we played against Brentford, we played a very good game, the fans were fantastic," he said.
“We played against Slavia Prague, they helped us, were fantastic. We played against Liverpool, they almost gave us a draw, where it seemed like everything was a little bit against us. The last three home games, the fans have been very good.
"Then there were the chants last night and boom, now it’s the biggest problem in the world."
He added: “I’m pretty sure that all the fantastic Tottenham fans we have out there, they want the best for the team, for the players, they want to do everything they can to push them.
“And why not? Hey, it’s life and football is hope. There’s always hope. We’re going into that game with massive hope. There’s massive hope that we can start 2026 with a win and take one step closer to making our stadium a fortress."