The Tottenham Hotspur boss spoke to the media on Thursday and there were some differences to be noted compared to his previous press conferences
There was something different about Thomas Frank's latest Tottenham press conference at Hotspur Way on Thursday.
On the face of it, Saturday's derby against West Ham is huge. The Hammers are the only London side worse than 14th-placed Spurs this season, lying in the drop zone with 14 points to their name and only three wins. They have only claimed a single victory on the road in their 10 matches so far, which came at Nottingham Forest way back in August.
Tottenham have won just twice in their past 13 matches, and with their dreadful home record in the Premier League they need to put on a derby display in front of their fans. Some sections of the media have already dubbed this derby as this season's 'El Sackico', with both Frank and Nuno Espirito Santo under pressure from two disgruntled fanbases.
Yet something about Frank's press conference at the Tottenham training ground at an unusually later time of 4pm on Thursday felt at odds with noise on the outside. The sun was setting at Hotspur Way but the Dane did not appear in the slightest to be a man who felt it was close to setting on his time at the north London club.
This was the press conference of a man who appeared to have felt the backing of those above him this week. The 52-year-old had previously worn the look of a number of his Tottenham predecessors in recent weeks - tired, frustrated and wondering what he had got himself into.
Yet as Thursday evening drew in, Frank looked reenergised. This was no doubt helped by having a chance to regather himself in the absence of a midweek match, but there felt something more to this press conference.
It was the longest press conference since his excited but slightly nervous introductory one back in July, which must feel like a lifetime ago for him. That day he spoke for almost 41 minutes in a busy room full of journalists. On Thursday, he talked to those present for around 39 minutes with fewer reporters in the room but with longer, confident answers.
It has been a week in which Spurs reacted quickly to the latest injury setback within the squad and got him a player to improve his starting XI in Conor Gallagher, a player the Dane helped to get through the doors with his phone call to the midfielder, explaining his role within his team and the project going forward under him.
Frank also led the drive to bring in John Heitinga as his assistant manager and got his man, the Dutchman bringing plenty of experience and the knowledge of what it takes to help coach a team to the Premier League title.
The 42-year-old former centre-back will take on Matt Wells' duties in primarily dealing with Tottenham's defence and the World Cup runner-up will bring a certain gravitas to the party and should enjoy working with his compatriot Micky van de Ven and captain Cristian Romero among others.
Heitinga's ability as a coach and communicator has been respected during his time at both West Ham and Liverpool and with Ajax's academy. He was unable to match his reasonably successful caretaker spell of his childhood club in 2023 with a positive experience as the permanent manager last year, but the lessons learned will serve him well at Tottenham after reflecting on what went wrong in his first managerial post.
So on Thursday Frank sounded like a man who has seen plans put in place that involve him at their centre this week, albeit with the clear understanding that results must improve in the short term and he must win over the Tottenham fans and connect with those who believe this has been too big a step up for him, otherwise he will be fighting a losing battle.
"Yeah, that's fine (the pressure). I'm happy to take that. It's all about how we can get the players out there full of confidence and brave and play forward. I know it's a big London derby, of course, against West Ham, with the rivalry and everything, but it's all about us. For me, it's all about us," he said.
"It's how we come out with energy, positive, forward, adding, hopefully, first half against Sunderland, second half against Villa. If we can do that, then we'll put a top performance out there, and then we'll win the game."
This latest press conference felt geared towards getting a positive, hopeful message out there. Previously Frank has edged closer to the Antonio Conte style of being blunt about the reality of the north London club's current situation, although nowhere near as brutally as the Italian.
Some Spurs fans want to hear that honesty, but many take it as running down their club and blaming them for having unrealistic expectations, and in the wake of finally winning a trophy for the first time in 17 years.
Frank was more positive on Thursday. He veered away from his habit of pointing to last season and passing the blame, and instead spoke about the things that must improve under him, especially the attacking nature of the team. That he has been able to be more open about injury timelines has cut off another avenue of frustration.
The fans and media have mostly been left guessing on player returns this season, but recent days have brought much-needed clarity on Dejan Kulusevski's complicated knee injury, as well as the precise timelines for Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus - both out until April - and the hamstring injury that will keep Richarlison out for seven weeks.
Whether it's Frank or someone around him, there's perhaps been a realisation that the Dane does deserve some sympathy - as did his predecessor Ange Postecoglou - for the long-term injuries to key players that have slowed the building work he's trying to do. Being mysterious or vague about those injuries creates frustration rather than that sympathy and understanding.
"I'm very aware of how this football world works," he said. "I know we haven't got enough of the results we want. I know, I can just see the small steps we're constantly making. I still refer to the last six games with more positive, consistent performances. Not perfect, but there's some good signs of a team where we are talking about sometimes not being able to deal with enough setbacks and resilience.
"The two second halves against Bournemouth and Villa where it is so easy to fall apart. They actually step in together, they add more. I think that's talking about a culture that's getting a little bit stronger, a little bit more 'come on, let's do everything we can to turn this little momentum'.
"In football, sometimes momentum changes like that. I can see the small signs of the culture, the training, how the boys have been training here, especially Tuesday, Thursday, very intense, focused, working very hard on the offensive part of the game, because we know the defensive in many ways looks quite good, not through the roof, but quite good. Big improvements, set pieces are there.
"It's the offensive we need to do better. That's what we're working hard on. I think all the small steps we're doing, with everything from signing Conor, signing John Heitinga as assistant coach, excellent signing, Rafi [Moersen] as football operation officer, a key member in the direction, how we want to do things. Everything is going forward. We just need to add a top performance and a win on Saturday."
There have been huge changes in the past nine months with Frank one of 12 new department heads who have been appointed at Tottenham during that period. It's a time of turmoil as everyone finds their feet and works out their place in the structure and Frank himself is trying to do that.
He began his Spurs tenure by declaring that 'we will lose matches'. He was being honest and Tottenham did, but no football fan wants to hear that as one of the introductory rallying cries. That narrative has changed in the past week with the Dane admitting at his last pre-match press conference that he did not leave Brentford to be anything other than top of the Premier League eventually.
On Thursday, Frank told football.london that all of the changes within the club will require adjustment but he firmly believes they will lead to something special.
"I know the one thing you don't have in football is time, but the one thing that has also been proven to bring success is time," said he said. "So it's a little bit of a conundrum. You need time, not only me, but everyone to gel and make this big engine tick and get up to momentum and pace. Then it's like an unstoppable force. That's the big aim.
"There's a few new people and all of us need to get to know each other, how we work and to get the right process and structure in place is important. But alongside that, we need to perform to our best ability in the most positive way and that needs to start on Saturday against West Ham."
Frank has started looking forward rather than sideways or backwards, and that's something Tottenham fans are desperate for his team to do on the pitch. Supporters need hope and they want something and someone to believe in. That's what Thomas Frank must provide at a club that is desperate to give him time to prevent that sun from setting.