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Thomas Frank press conference Tottenham v Sunderland preview

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Thomas Frank press conference Tottenham v Sunderland preview - bbc.com
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He was reluctant to give a specific timeframe on Dominic Solanke's return, and said Lucas Bergvall is a doubt for Sunday's match.

When asked about Tottenham's away support chanting "boring" during Thursday's draw against Brentford, Frank gave a long and detailed answer about the current situation with his side.

On what needs to improve offensively: "There is a few things we need to improve on and one of those is losing the ball through unforced errors, which happened 25 times [against Brentford]. I showed those 25 clips to the players today."

He continued: "Football is a game of mistakes. You lose the ball - that happens - but if half of those can be better, it will provide more attacks. There was at least five good counter-attacks [against Brentford] where a better touch could [leave us] three versus three and the game looks more lively and open."

Frank said that "patterns, structure and getting in the right positions" also need to be addressed, which he and his coaching staff take full responsibility for.

When asked what he sees as success this season and beyond: "What I am 100% [sure] will happen is that we are able to score a lot of goals and be much more dominant. With the current situation, where a lot of the top players are out and we are playing a lot of games, it makes it more tricky. We need to manage everything between that with small steps every day."

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Tottenham: Thomas Frank 'understands and shares' Spurs fans' frustrations

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Tottenham: Thomas Frank 'understands and shares' Spurs fans' frustrations - bbc.com
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Thomas Frank says he understands and shares the frustration of Tottenham fans after the head coach was booed following Thursday's draw at Brentford.

Former Brentford boss Frank received a standing ovation from Bees fans before kick-off as he returned to Gtech Stadium for the first time since his June departure.

But he was later targeted by the travelling Spurs supporters who also chanted "boring, boring Tottenham" after the goalless draw.

The result left Spurs sitting 12th in the Premier League, with just two wins from their last 10 games in the top flight.

Asked about the chants, Frank said: "I will try to maybe turn that question around to say that if you are successful, the Tottenham fans will be behind you.

"So, the fans will get behind us and I am pretty sure that yes I am booed last night but I am pretty sure there are a lot of fans behind us.

"I understand the frustration and I share it too."

Frank was drafted in as Ange Postecoglou's replacement over the summer after Tottenham ended last season in 17th place.

Spurs have already shown signs of recovery in defence, with seven clean sheets under Frank in the Premier League, having only earned six league shutouts in the entirety of 2024-25 with Postecoglou in charge.

They won 1-0 at Crystal Palace prior to the Brentford trip.

Frank accepts there are still further areas for improvement but insists there are plenty of reasons to be positive.

"It's not perfect, we want to be a free-flow team," Frank said.

"A few things I went to reinforce positively is our last two away performances. The foundation we were building was very strong and we were very strong defensively. That is hugely important and we understood how to close down their transitions.

"We are working very hard on the offensive part of the game.

"Football is a game of mistakes. You lose the ball, that happens - but if half of those can be better, it will provide more attacks."

Frank, who spent seven years in charge of Brentford, was unable to call on several key figures on Thursday as he continues to contend with a lengthy absentee list.

James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski are among those on the sidelines with injuries, while Xavi Simons is serving a suspension.

"Expectation is good and I also think we are probably in a bit of a transition," Frank said.

"Not that we don't want to play a lot better, but the club, the squad, the injuries, all that taken into consideration is part of that."

Tottenham return to action on Sunday when Sunderland visit north London at 15:00 GMT.

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