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Former Premier League midfielder Darren Ambrose has called for perspective when assessing Tottenham Hotspur this season under manager Thomas Frank, insisting that the club could have been relegated last term.
In June, after a disappointing league campaign under Ange Postecoglou that saw Tottenham finish just one spot above the relegation zone, despite winning the Europa League, Frank was appointed head coach.
Tottenham finished the campaign with 22 losses under the Australian coach and accumulated a measly total of 38 points, securing 17th place in the league.
Frank was appointed to revive Spurs’ form, and has recently likened his role to his first managerial stint at Brondby, where he inherited a club that had narrowly avoided relegation.
The 52-year-old made a steady start to the campaign, suffering just two defeats in nine games to sit firmly in the top three after nine matches, while remaining realistic by flatly dismissing any talk of a title challenge.
A recent slump has seen the Lilywhites collect just seven points from their last seven games, leaving them eleventh on 25 points after 18 matches.
With the Premier League more competitive than ever, the gap between fourth and 15th is just ten points, meaning a handful of results could quickly alter the standings.
Ambrose urged perspective on Tottenham’s season, highlighting improvement on last year’s league struggles and recalling how narrowly the club avoided serious trouble, with their 17th-place finish in many other seasons potentially leading to relegation.
While stressing that the Europa League success remains a deserved and untouchable moment for supporters, he pointed to Spurs sitting just four points off fifth place and potential Champions League qualification as evidence of progress, arguing that despite up-and-down form, the club are in a far stronger position than last season.
Ambrose said on talkSPORT (4:31): “We need to remember, as Spurs supporters, how poor it was last season in terms of the league campaign.
“17th. If it was not for three of the poor teams that got promoted from the Championship, Spurs would be in the Championship this season.
“In the majority of other seasons, they would have got relegated.
“Yes, they won the Europa League, which nothing can take that away from them.
“I think, as Spurs supporters, we deserved that moment.
“It’s been a long time coming.
“But to be sat four points off fifth place, a potential Champions League spot, which I think will go down to the top five again this season, I think you would have taken that.”
Focus now turns to Frank’s return to the Gtech Community Stadium on 1st January, where Spurs face Brentford once again.
The Dane will be aiming to replicate December’s comfortable win, secure back-to-back league victories for the first time since the opening weekend, and build the consistency he admits is not a “quick fix.”
The Lilywhites will hope to use the fixture as a springboard to climb the table and carry momentum into the new year.