Tottenham Hotspur have shared footage and audio of Thomas Frank’s pre-match team talk before their friendly against Arsenal, which Spurs went on to win.
Thursday saw Tottenham and Arsenal contest the first ever North London derby outside the United Kingdom, and Spurs emerged triumphant in Hong Kong.
Pape Matar Sarr’s moment of magic proved the difference, the Spurs midfielder firing in from just inside the Arsenal half to catch David Raya off his line on the stroke of half-time.
Tottenham delivered a solid performance overall, showing a more structured and disciplined approach, and Spurs have now revealed how Frank told his players to approach the game.
Thomas Frank called for Tottenham players to focus on duels and second balls
Tottenham’s Instagram account shared footage of Thomas Frank speaking to his players in the dressing room ahead of the game, where he spoke about the “big thing” his players had to do.
Frank was eager for the Spurs players to focus on second balls and duels, ensuring they took possession of the second balls and won as many 50-50s as they could.
“Yes, everyone in? Anyone missing? No?” began Frank.
“Big thing – duels and second balls, okay? So when they go long in our high pressure and when we go long, we need to land on the second balls, okay? And make sure we win those 50-50s.
“They will be aggressive, we need to be aggressive. Make sure we’re brave, okay? Play forward, trust yourself, play each other good. And play enough in behind. Enough in behind.”
Frank finished by saying: “Okay boys, let’s go!”. This prompted applause from the Spurs players.
Who Tottenham play next
Spurs successfully passed their North London derby friendly test with flying colours, which will be a great confidence boost ahead of the new season.
Tottenham have three more games before getting their Premier League campaign underway.
Premier League rivals Newcastle United are first up in Seoul on Sunday 3 August, 12pm BST kick-off.
Spurs then play Bayern Munich away at the Allianz Arena on Thursday 7 August, 5:30pm BST kick-off.
Finally, Tottenham take on Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Supercup on Wednesday 13 August, 8pm BST kick-off.