The Tottenham boss is an enjoyable presence in his press conferences but the messages he conveys are not always the best for him
Thomas Frank is an affable, warm character but the self-deprecating humour of his Tottenham press conferences could end up causing him more problems than he realises.
The Spurs fans have had a variety of communicators over the years. Mauricio Pochettino was a mixed bag, sometimes funny, sometimes tetchy and occasionally the English language was not his best friend. Jose Mourinho was all about the show and he was often on good form as he was not at Tottenham long enough to bring us 'The Grumpy One'.
Nuno Espirito Santo did not enjoy words and press conferences were an evil he did not see as necessary. For context, a Pochettino press conference could last 45 minutes, but getting 20 minutes out of the Portuguese was a miracle.
Up next was Antonio Conte, as full of passion in his press conferences as he was on the pitch, and the sight of the press officer's stunned face sat beside him as he exploded in rage at his final outing at Southampton will live long in the memory of many a reporter covering the club.
Then came Ange Postecoglou. The Australian was good value for headlines and stories, quick with a one-liner and also a spiky remark to those he felt were attacking him or his character.
Postecoglou's biggest talent perhaps was making people believe in what he was doing, whether that was his players or equally sections of the media. Many a press conference after a disappointing defeat - of which there were many in the Premier League last season - brought the former Celtic boss on his top form as he used his words to push a certain narrative, message or emotion. It was like he knew that in those moment his communication needed to be at its best.
It's that belief that he instilled in the players which led them to the club's first trophy in 17 years and why they poured out their emotions when he was sacked. He connected with them even through the injury crisis and then the horrendous results in the Premier League.
Postecoglou was excellent at selling himself and his confidence in what he was doing. Following the Conte era, when at times the Italian came across like he was doing everyone a favour just showing up for work, his Australian successor painted images with his words of what could be achieved rather than what couldn't.
All of which brings us to Frank and his very Danish honesty. The 52-year-old is unlikely to have been a car salesman if football had not worked out for him.
"Oh you want to know about that vehicle? That is a good question. I think, for sure, it's alright. It's not top, top, top. Sometimes at it's maximum, it'll be free-floating, but you'll also really, really have problems along the way. That is a concern and of course I need to take responsibility for that," the former Brentford boss might say or something along those lines.
For Frank will often say exactly what is on his mind, whether it actually does him any favours or not.
For instance, while Postecoglou came into his first press conference as Tottenham boss talking about trophies and scaling new heights, Frank spoke about losing matches and it was something he told club staff as well when he addressed them soon after joining.
"I promise you one thing. One thing is 100% sure, we will lose football matches," he said. "I haven't seen a team that is not losing any football matches. There is Arsenal, that we can't mention, in the Premier League. So I made my first rookie mistake there. And there was Preston back in the day I think those were the only two teams in a Premier League season. Then they probably lost in the cup and in the cup lost the games. So that will happen, of course."
The repeated mentions of Arsenal in his first few weeks, including that unbeaten season, were eventually rectified but this week a reporter reminded him of that statement that Spurs would lose matches amid a run of just three wins in 12 games.
"I promised that, I succeeded," said the Dane before smiling.
In the room that's a bit of humour and people laughed. However, in today's world that comment circulates everywhere as text without any context on social media. If Frank cannot get Spurs on the upward curve again then those five words will be used on memes with his smile. It's the world we live in now.
He's just being honest and trying to lighten the faux seriousness of press conferences in the Premier League, but self-deprecating humour can and will be used against you. Postecoglou was mocked for months about his irritated 'I always win in my second season' response only to actually go and do it.
Another Frank example came when he discussed his half-time substitution at the Emirates Stadium as he brought on Xavi Simons only for Arsenal to score within moments.
"I picked a team that played 5-4-1, changed it at half-time, very clever, one minute into it they scored. 3-0. Then the rest is history after that," he said with that self deprecating manner.
Some might say that while Spurs' performance in the next game at PSG was improved, Frank was too happy afterwards about a game in which the north London club had collapsed and conceded five goals. He just looked delighted to see something that was not as awful as the game at Arsenal.
That doesn't strike the right chord with everyone though. Fans want to see a 'winning mentality' from their manager, rather than being happy to compete for an hour. They also want to hear good news about injuries but the Dane, like his predecessor, rarely has any to give.
Thomas Frank is someone you want to root for because he's clearly a good man and has the talent to succeed because it has brought him this far, from his days as an amateur player before coaching youngsters in Denmark to sweeping up the levels of the game.
He's done that by being true to himself, but he also needs to be aware that the upper rungs of the Premier League ladder are an unforgiving place. There's enough people waiting to highlight your mistakes without you doing it for them.