The Guardian

“We are finding our feet in the best league in the world. We are developing a way of playing that is a little bit more pragmatic.” Those are the words of Thomas Frank, speaking at the end of the 2022-23 season, in which his Brentford side finished ninth in the Premier League despite having by far the lowest wage bill in the top flight, at £99m. The pragmatism he spoke of had helped Brentford overachieve for a second successive season after promotion to the top flight two years earlier.

There is, in general, a strong correlation between wage bill and league position, but Brentford consistently defied their financial disadvantage under Frank to become established members of the top flight, something plenty of other clubs have failed to do in recent years.

When Frank led Brentford to that top-half finish, they were one point and one place behind Tottenham, who have just appointed Frank as their head coach. That was despite Spurs having a wage bill of £251m, more than two and a half times that of Brentford. If ever there were an advert for how to make the most of what you have to work with, Frank was it.

And as he proudly said, pragmatism was at the heart of what he had done. Brentford had won promotion with a possession-based style, consistently dominating their opponents and playing teams off the park. They ranked in the league’s top five for possession in each of Frank’s two full seasons in charge in the Championship, and scored more goals than every other team in the regular season in those campaigns (80 in 2019-20 and 79 in 2020-21).

But Frank recognised things would have to be different in the top flight. “We’ve found a way that is difficult to play against,” he said in 2023. “We know that if we go toe-to-toe with [the best teams], it will definitely minimise our chances to win. Now we go toe-to-toe in a different way that is a bit more defensive but, hey, you’re playing against six of the best teams in the world.” It worked; in Brentford’s second season in the Premier League, they won six, drew three and lost three of their 12 games against the traditional big six.

Frank has shown an adaptability that Spurs’ last few managers have lacked. Their recent managers have jumped between the defence-first, win-at-all-costs football of José Mourinho and Antonio Conte (as well as Nuno Espírito Santo briefly), and the adventurous, attacking and sometimes downright reckless game of Ange Postecoglou. These managers were steadfastly wedded to a way of playing, and that ended up being their downfall.

Spurs failed under win-now managers in Mourinho and Conte, and had hoped to build something stronger and more sustainable with the ultra-possession-focused football of Postecoglou. Ultimately, however, his reign ended, ironically, with a Europa League triumph playing a brand of football more akin to that of his predecessors.

He had adapted in Europe to do what Mourinho and Conte – and even Mauricio Pochettino and Harry Redknapp before them – could not and won a trophy, but the damage had already been done in the league. He recorded the club’s worst Premier League finish (17th) and the chair, Daniel Levy, pulled the trigger. Now, Spurs are turning to someone who is happier to adapt than any of their recent managers.

Frank had to be flexible at Brentford because, as he said last month, they are “a selling club”. They have been a selling club throughout their rise up the divisions under the ownership of Matthew Benham, whose data-driven approach has been key to their success. Part of their philosophy is to cash in players when the right offer arrives.

In the past six years, they have consistently sold their highest goalscorer, with Neal Maupay, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney moved on for big money and Bryan Mbeumo expected to depart this summer. They have also sold David Raya, Saïd Benrahma and Ezri Konsa, and have adapted every time. Maupay, Watkins, Toney and Mbeumo are different types of forward, but each has succeeded under Frank. He is a master of working with the tools at his disposal.

Postecoglou’s predictability at Tottenham was one of his biggest weaknesses. “You can see what their ideas are very clearly,” an unnamed coach at another Premier League club recently told the Athletic. Under Frank, their tactics may even change from week to week. He prioritised possession at Brøndby and in the second tier with the Bees. “I got the label in Denmark of having a tiki-taka and possession-based team,” he once said. Brentford had the sixth-lowest average possession share in the Premier League this season (47.7%), but they also showed they could dominate the ball when they wanted to, beating Ipswich with 64.6% of possession in October, for example.

Frank wants his teams to play through the opposition’s press if they can, but he is also happy for players to go direct to avoid playing their way into trouble in their own half. Brentford have ranked in the top five for the proportion of passes played long in each of their four seasons in the Premier League, with their rate as high as 16.6% in 2022-23. That rate dropped to 13.1% this past season after the departure of target man Toney, but was still the fifth-highest in the league.

These numbers speak to that pragmatism. Brentford aren’t a long-ball team; they have plenty of very capable footballers and keep the ball on the floor as much as possible. But they are also well aware of their limitations and try to play in a way that means those limitations aren’t a problem.

Over their time in the Premier League, they have moved further towards the style they used in the Championship as they have grown in confidence and ability. The below graphic charts how their football has developed in six full seasons under Frank.

Postecoglou’s Tottenham were built to play short passes – only Manchester City (6.0%) played a lower proportion of their passes long in Premier League games this past season than Spurs (7.3%) – but they showed on their Europa League run how effective they can be with a more direct approach.

All of this is not to say that Frank will turn Tottenham into as direct a team as Brentford, just that he is likely to encourage his players to play balls into the channels far more than Postecoglou did. And the direct style in the Europa League run shows there is something to work with for him on this front.

Despite the fact Brentford don’t have much of the ball and go long more than most, they by no means sit back and soak up pressure. In fact, they ranked sixth in the Premier League this past season for high turnovers (winning the ball within 40 metres of the opposition’s goalline), with 319, one fewer than Tottenham, who were one of the league’s most active pressers.

The difference between the teams is that, whereas Spurs pressed at almost every opportunity when playing “Angeball” in its purest form, Brentford pick and choose their moments more wisely. Only Brighton made more pressures in the final third (2,922) than Spurs (2,908), but Brentford were way down in 14th (2,265). And yet Brentford made only one fewer high turnover than Spurs. Perhaps they are just smarter with their pressing?

That could be something Spurs need given their players sustained so many injuries last season playing Postecoglou’s relentlessly high-intensity game. Spurs ranked third in the Premier League for distance covered (111.5km per game) and second for off-ball runs (6,043), while Brentford were 10th and 11th respectively. With Champions League football to contend with, perhaps a less taxing style will benefit the players, though Frank has never managed a team in a full European campaign, so it remains to be seen how he fares on that front.

Efficiency is the name of the game for Frank, and that could be crucial in a busy season at a club expected to take the cups seriously and facing at least eight Champions League games. Brentford were efficient at both ends of the pitch throughout Frank’s reign. “We’re a big believer in making the chance bigger,” said Frank in 2022. “It’s about creating good opportunities where we increase the opportunity to score.”

The numbers show they put this idea into practice extremely well. In the Premier League this past season, the average expected goals value of each Brentford shot (0.14 xG) was higher than any other team in the division. A season before, they had ranked second (0.13 xG/shot), and the season before that they were first (0.14 xG). In their four seasons in the Premier League, they make up three of the top 10 seasonal averages for xG per shot.

It follows that they take most of their shots from inside the area, taking up four of the top 10 seasonal averages for proportion of shots taken within the 18-yard box. Their rate of 77.0% in 2024-25 was the highest by any team in any of the past four seasons.

Creating chances close to goal was also important to Postecoglou, and Tottenham’s 2024-25 season is eighth in the above list, so again this could be an area in which the players enjoy a feeling of some continuity when Frank comes in.

Frank has his team work hard to keep the quality of their opponents’ chances down, with only Liverpool (63.3%) and Arsenal (63.5%) facing a lower proportion of shots from inside the box in the Premier League this past season than Brentford (64.1%). Brentford also faced the lowest quality chances on average, with the lowest xG per shot conceded in the division (0.09 xG).

They do concede a lot of shots, though. Only rock-bottom Southampton (681) conceded more than Brentford’s 647 in the Premier League. But the fact that six sides conceded more xG (56.1) and seven teams conceded more goals (57) shows how efficient they were in defence.

Much of Frank’s philosophy is about extracting the maximum from any situation, and he is not ashamed of placing great emphasis on set​ pieces. Only Arsenal (66), Liverpool (61) and City (58) have scored more goals from set​ pieces over the past four Premier League seasons than Brentford (54). Frank’s side lead the way for expected goals from set​ pieces (64.7 xG), and by a long way, with Arsenal (60.5 xG) their nearest challengers. They also have the highest xG per shot from set pieces (0.10 xG).

When it comes to dead balls, Brentford boast a remarkable efficiency, part of which is down to how bold they are in such situations. In a​n interview with the Coaches’ Voice​ in 2022, Frank explained how he pushes all his players into the attacking third when they have a chance to launch a long throw into the box. “If you don’t take risks, you also take risks,” he said. Spurs will hope Frank, who has brought his Brentford set-piece coach Andreas Georgson with him, can replicate his set-play success in north London.

Clearly, Frank has plenty of strings to his bow. He is open to different things and willing to learn and use new techniques. He embraces data and proudly looks for efficiency at every juncture. Making a change was a big call from Daniel Levy, but Frank looks like a risk worth taking.

Tottenham have held initial talks about signing Bryan Mbeumo from Thomas Frank’s former club Brentford and are also interested in bringing his strike partner Yoane Wissa to north London.

Frank was confirmed as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement on Thursday and is targeting the duo that contributed 39 Premier League goals last season for Brentford as he attempts to strengthen the Spurs squad. Mbeumo is also wanted by Manchester United, who had an offer worth up to £55m for the Cameroon forward rejected last week and are expected to return with an improved bid.

Brentford value the 25-year-old at more than £60m but are not expected to stand in his way if they can agree a deal, with Mbeumo previously thought to favour a move to Old Trafford.

But Tottenham, who are also tracking Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, are understood to be hopeful that Frank’s relationship with the player who he signed for £5.8m in August 2019 from French club Troyes can persuade Mbeumo to change his mind.

It is also believed that there have been internal discussions about a move for Wissa, who scored 19 league goals last season. Nottingham Forest tried to sign the DR Congo forward in January and remain interested in him, although Brentford are unlikely to sell the 28-year-old for less than £40m given they have an option to extend his contract, which expires next year, by a further 12 months.

Frank has said Brentford will always have “a big piece of my heart” following his departure from the club. “The time has come for me to move on. But, even as I leave, I know I have left a big piece of my heart at Brentford, not just at the football club but with the community and the incredible and loyal supporters,” the 51-year-old wrote in a message posted on Brentford’s website. “I want to extend my profound gratitude to the club for giving me the chance to pursue my dreams and for everyone involved who made the journey such a memorable one. For my family and I, it has been a privilege to be allowed to be part of such a special community – it’s an experience and adventure that we will cherish for life. So, thank you.”

Brentford are expected to target an external candidate to replace Frank despite holding talks with Keith Andrews about stepping up from his role as set-piece coach. The former Republic of Ireland midfielder has emerged as a potential candidate for the manager’s post. He joined Brentford last summer and is highly regarded at the club but it is understood he is unlikely to be given his first senior role in management there.

Brentford’s owner, Matthew Benham, is believed to have considered promoting Justin Cochrane from his role as Frank’s assistant until the 43-year-old former midfielder, who is part of Thomas Tuchel’s England staff, opted to join Tottenham instead. Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and the former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic are among those being considered to take over instead.

Meanwhile, Tottenham have filed high court proceedings against United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos over a terminated sponsorship agreement. Spurs filed a commercial claim against Ineos Automotive on Thursday, though no documents are available.

The chemicals firm agreed a five-year deal with Spurs in 2022 – before Ratcliffe bought a stake in United – for Ineos Grenadier to become the London team’s official 4x4 vehicle partner.

Embrace the glory game

Early in Ange Postecoglou’s reign, Spurs fans chanted: “We’ve got our Tottenham back.” The Australian departed as a cult hero after a Europa League triumph but in Bilbao his team had played nothing like the “glory game” of club lore, instead hanging on for dear life. And that was a marked improvement on the sludge served up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, amid 22 Premier League defeats. Is Thomas Frank the manager to return Spurs to the days of Bill Nicholson or Keith Burkinshaw? With the right players and a trailing wind, it’s not impossible. Before promotion to the Premier League, Frank’s Brentford played an attractive hybrid passing and pressing game, only to readjust to the division above with a style that at first seemed agricultural, a playing of the margins, though one that embraced attack rather than defence as the means of survival. Frank does not shun creative players; Christian Eriksen’s signing in January 2022 was a masterstroke, while Mikkel Damsgaard’s awkward running belies a playmaker of high quality and high output. Last season, Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade were in double figures for Premier League goals. No other team attacked with such fearlessness.

Manage upwards and effectively

The key to survival – and path to the exit – at Spurs is the chair and minority shareholder, Daniel Levy. Postecoglou is no political animal, rarely rocking the boat. Instead, his team’s results meant Levy’s name was taken in vain, particularly among away fans. Hopes of Levy taking his ball home are unlikely to be fulfilled in the near future and a new executive structure is in place. Levy’s long-serving adjutant Donna Cullen, the executive director, has departed. Incoming as the chief executive is Vinai Venkatesham, credited as the brains behind Arsenal’s post-Wenger rebirth. Another departure is that of Postecolgou’s compatriot Scott Munn as chief football officer. Spurs have a far more corporate outlook than the family atmosphere at Brentford, though the latter are a well-structured, model club with Matthew Benham as a similarly pre-eminent principal. Benham was happy for Frank to be the charismatic frontman for the club in the style of Jürgen Klopp. The Dane is collegiate and worked closely with Phil Giles, Brentford’s highly regarded director of football. Frank was also open to analytics – Benham’s specialism – as a useful means to an end. Efforts to get Levy to spend are the rocks on which many Spurs managers’ hopes have dashed. Finances are healthy, too. Can the new regime get that Champions League revenue spent on a comprehensive rebuild? That may be beyond Frank’s pay grade.

Smile for the cameras

Frank will need self-belief and equilibrium to cope with his new job’s higher pressures. For all his alpha-male quips, Postecoglou was more shy than brash. In his second season an irritation with his media workload was painfully apparent. “Big Ange” was bored of repeating himself, though suffered for a lack of variety in his responses. Staring into the floor often suggested a lack of conviction in an idealism he would abandon. Frank has an inmate pragmatism and is a very quotable media performer, even-tempered and patient, happy to answer the lowest-level queries with grace. He will, though, occasionally show off the steel his players doubtless often feel. The overriding quality that kept Brentford in the Premier League was the Dane’s relentless competitive nature. Bringing Tottenham sustained success will demand that quality in spades. It has been absent for far too long.

Keep the squad unified – and healthy

An ability to improve players beyond expected capabilities was hugely important to Brentford. Take Keane Lewis-Potter, signed from Hull as a forward but converted into a speedy, now coveted left-back/wing-back. Can Frank’s man-management motivate Tottenham’s squad, larger and full of players who may feel they have less to prove? A Champions League schedule, eight games minimum, will reduce Frank’s time on the training pitch but offers more leeway than the Thursday-Sunday treadmill that unbalanced last season’s Premier League campaign. There is real talent within the squad, especially in the teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, though they need protection from burnout. James Maddison, occasionally brilliant for Postecoglou, often inconsistent, can be indulged, though every player under Frank is asked to give everything. Brentford players made 5,500 sprints last season, compared with Spurs’ 6,250, towards the top of the Premier League, but nowhere near as onerously or damagingly. Tottenham finished third in physioroom.com’s end-of-season injury table with 22, while Brentford were 14th with 12.

Sort out that defence

Frank was not without injury problems last season. He spent much of the first half of the campaign without first-choice defenders and so opted for an all-out-attack approach. Brentford developed a regular habit of scoring goals in the opening seconds, catching opponents cold. Stopping Spurs conceding goals is a time-honoured, decades-stretching task but Postecoglou’s teams were desperately weak on set pieces, a key strength for Brentford, England’s finishing school for set-piece coaches. If Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero stay fit and can be retained – Atlético Madrid want the Argentinian – Frank has a high-class central pairing, but the discipline and organisation of those around them must improve.

Alejandro Garnacho will be allowed to leave Manchester United this summer if the price is right. One surprising potential suitor is Aston Villa, who could make a move for the winger. They took Marcus Rashford on loan from Old Trafford last season, revitalising his career somewhat in the progress, so Garnacho may feel it is a move in the right direction away from the current dead end.

It will be a busy summer at United as Ruben Amorim attempts to assemble a squad that has the vague chance of fitting into his 3-4-3 constraints. One key area where improvement is required is centre-forward. A potential plan to source an actual goalscorer could see United offer up Joshua Zirkzee to Napoli as part of a deal for Victor Osimhen. There could, however, be some very serious competition for the Nigerian as Liverpool may also fancy a nibble.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike is another shortlisted name at United. The Frenchman scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga last season and, at 22, could be getting better for years to come. If anyone does want to sign Ekitike, it will cost them €100m (£85m). “If the price isn’t right, then he’ll just stay with us. We don’t have to sell Hugo,” said the Frankfurt CEO, Markus Krösche.

Bayer Leverkusen and Erik ten Hag continue to sniff around the vicinity of the Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah. The 22-year-old struggled for regular minutes under Arne Slot last season but the homegrown centre-back is still valued at £40m around Anfield.

Thomas Frank is now officially the new Tottenham head coach. When a manager moves from one club to another, there are always a few rumours that he will take some of his favourites from his previous employer with him. In Frank’s case Bryan Mbeumo has already been heavily touted as someone of interest, while Christian Nørgaard could be another name the new manager will whisper into Daniel Levy’s ear, having worked with his compatriot at Brondby too. Everton, Fulham and Bournemouth are also rumoured to be keen.

Milan have gone on the blower to Arsenal to ascertain the availability of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior. If the pair do leave, it could prompt Mikel Arteta to firm up his interest in the Ajax defender Jorrel Hato but Chelsea are also keen.

After impressing in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers, Hamza Igamane has gained a couple of admirers south of the border. West Ham and Brentford are somewhat eager to pursue a deal for the 22-year-old Moroccan, who scored 16 times last season.

Leeds United are back in the big time and they want to bring the Udinese defender Jaka Bijol with them to the Premier League. The 26-year-old Slovenian, who has already amassed 63 caps for this country, is valued in the region of £15m.

Brøndby appointed Thomas Frank as manager in June 2013 and did not win any of their first eight games of the 2013-14 season. Brentford appointed Frank as manager in October 2018 and lost eight of their following 10 games. So nobody should panic if Frank begins slowly at Tottenham.

In reality, though, the first couple of months will be a major challenge for the Dane. These are not easy circumstances for anybody to take the Spurs job. Usually a manager takes over after a run of poor form, with fans and players ready for a change and a regression to the mean in the offing. Spurs have been on a run of poor form: one win in 12 league games over the final three months of the season, but in that time they also won the Europa League, which means everything is seen in a different light.

Fans may have grumbled, they may have stopped singing Angels, and there was the contretemps at Stamford Bridge, but many of the doubts about Ange Postecoglou were forgotten amid the ecstasy of Bilbao. To judge by the victory parade after the Europa League final and the outpourings of love on social media, the players remained supportive of the previous manager. Which makes this a very unusual situation: Frank inherits a side that finished fourth-bottom of the league, that is both buoyed by recent success and expectant of improvement.

That Postecoglou started his first season so well only complicated the issue: unfair and unrepresentative of the whole as it may be, it’s easy to imagine the comparisons to his first 10 league games, which yielded 26 points.

There are other doubts. After working in the youth ranks in Denmark, Frank has only ever managed Brøndby and Brentford. In terms of scrutiny and expectation, Tottenham is a whole new level. It’s one thing to be affable at the club with the second-lowest wage bill in the Premier League, quite another at a club like Spurs with a vast global fanbase. Already there has been some online scepticism about the wisdom of a club of their size and self-perception appointing from humble Brentford.

While the examples of José Mourinho and Antonio Conte show the dangers of turning to a manager who believes the club should be grateful to have them, latent doubts about the scale of the step-up could exacerbate the backlash if early results or performances are poor – as Tottenham experienced during Nuno Espírito Santo’s inglorious 17-game reign. And then there’s the Champions League: after the Europa League win, there should be few fears about playing in Europe, and Spurs should at the very least qualify for the playoff round, but constant high-level games are a drain on both physical and emotional energy.

Frank has limited experience of balancing the domestic league and Europe, the furthest he ever took Brøndby being the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League. His European record is notably poor: played 10, won three, and two of those were against Juvenes/Dogana of San Marino. His record in domestic cups, similarly, is dismal; his past history makes it unlikely a poor league season could be redeemed by other silverware – although the depth of the Spurs squad perhaps means the cups will not be such a low priority.

There is one further doubt, which is more to do with Spurs than with Frank. He is leaving an exceptionally well-run club, at which every component worked together to a coherent philosophy. There can be no certainty that any one cog from that system, however important, can achieve success in a different environment, something Chelsea have found as they accumulate more and more parts from Brighton without ever looking like replicating the efficiency of the Brighton model. It may be that such efficiency is not even possible at bigger clubs.

But there are risks in any appointment, just as there are in any transfer. There can be no guarantees that what worked in one set of circumstances will work in another. Football is complicated, and Frank has not just thrived at Brentford – taking the club with the 19th-highest wage bill to 10th in the table is a remarkable achievement – but has given every indication that he is flexible enough to adapt to a new environment.

Brentford were promoted as a progressive side with 55% possession in 2020-21, stayed up in their first three Premier League seasons playing in a relatively low block with 44% or 45% possession and then, in the season just ended, began pressing higher and playing more in transition, their possession rising to 48%. That’s three clear and distinct ways of playing, even before you get to the frequent tweaks of formation.

Not for Frank stubbornly sticking to a philosophy – only to then abandon it when the injuries became too much, leading paradoxically to glory – which is a large part of his appeal.

Frank is 51, but he is a manager on the way up. He has Premier League experience. He is the sort of profile of manager Tottenham should be looking to appoint. His track record is very good. It should work. But nothing in football is ever certain and there is a danger a poor start, combined with a confusion about realistic aspirations, could undermine his reign before it begins.

Tottenham have confirmed the appointment of Thomas Frank as their new manager. The 51-year-old Dane joins from Brentford on a contract that runs until 2028, and succeeds Ange Postecoglou, who delivered Europa League glory to end Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought but was sacked because of dismal results in the Premier League.

Spurs moved to line up Frank before dismissing Postecoglou last Friday, holding talks via ­intermediaries and plainly keen to avoid a protracted search for the ­person to lead them forward after a season in which they finished 17th with 38 points. Only once in club history have they had a worse league record – in 1914-15.

When Frank, who has impressed with his work in charge at Brentford during a near seven-year period, gave the green light, Spurs knew he was within their grasp because of a £10m release clause in his contract. They have spent the past few days negotiating the finer details, plus the transfer of some of Frank’s coaches from Brentford.

The writing had been on the wall for Postecoglou, with the expectation that he would depart even if he led Spurs past Manchester United in the Europa League final on 21 May. The club said they could not “base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph” when they announced Postecoglou’s departure.

The move for Frank has been pushed by Tottenham’s technical director, Johan Lange, a Dane who has a longstanding relationship with his compatriot. Lange gave Frank his first full-time position in the game as a youth coach at B93 in 2004, although they did not spend much time together at the club as Lange soon left.

The pair were reunited not long after at Lyngby where Frank came to the attention of the ­Danish ­Football Association, who hired him as the coach of their under-16s, under-17s and later the under-19s. From there Frank got his break in senior ­management at Brøndby in 2013, managing them for almost three ­seasons before going to Brentford, where he worked initially as the assistant to Dean Smith. He succeeded him as the manager in October 2018.

Spurs have been impressed by more than the headline items of Frank’s Brentford tenure – the ­promotion from the Championship via the playoffs in 2021, how he has established them in the Premier League, finishing 13th, ninth, 16th and 10th. Frank consistently over-achieved in relation to his financial means at Brentford; they have one of the smallest budgets in the division. An excellent ­communicator and noted developer of young ­talent, he has also shown himself to be ­tactically flexible. A Spurs statement read: “We are delighted. In Thomas we are ­appointing one of the most ­progressive and ­innovative head coaches in the game. He has a proven track record in player and squad development and we look forward to him leading the team as we prepare for the season ahead.”

Justin Cochrane will join Frank at Tottenham as his assistant while he has also brought the head of ­performance, Chris Haslam, and first-team analyst Joe Newton with him from Brentford. Another assistant coach, Andreas Georgson, will arrive from Manchester United.

Frank prioritised possession-based attacking football in the Championship but adapted in the Premier League, becoming more solid and direct while retaining a powerful threat on set pieces and long throws. That said, Brentford could still build through the thirds and they were the joint-fifth highest scorers in the league during this past season. His preference is for a back three and wing-backs, which could suit Spurs’s current full-backs Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence.

Frank has yet to win silverware or manage in European competition beyond Europa League qualifying stages; Spurs are back in the Champions League after the Europa League triumph. But he is not short of high-profile backers. Pep Guardiola predicted last September that Frank would one day join an elite-level club. “It is just a question of time,” said Manchester City’s manager. “I’m good in a few things, one of which is reading when the manager is good. It is going to happen. Thomas is one of the best. What his team does always makes sense. Every corner is a headache. They are compact. This season they have a high press.”

Jürgen Klopp described Frank as “a cool guy” who he respected a lot in November 2023. “He plays against possession teams one way and plays against other teams when all of a sudden they are a possession team themselves,” the then Liverpool manager said. “It’s really interesting.”

LET’S BE FRANK

As the wait goes on for Thomas Frank to be announced as Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager, Football Daily can’t help but wonder what exactly is causing the delay. On Sunday it was reported that personal terms between the Dane and Daniel Levy had more or less been agreed, a compensatory fee in the region of £10m for Brentford was deemed to be adequate and all that was left to be decided was how many of Frank’s coaching staff would be joining him. But while the Daily holds Keith Andrews – who has successfully muscled his way in to the pantheon of camera-hogging set-piece coaches with great hair in recent months – in the very highest of regard, we’re going to go out on a limb and guess the former Ireland international’s inclusion in any exit package almost certainly isn’t a deal-breaker.

What might be troubling Frank, at this potentially crucial juncture in his career, is that Spurs, not content with sacking managers for not winning trophies, have just got rid of the bloke who secured their first one in 17 years. Given the comparatively snakebelly low expectations he shoulders in his current role, Brentford’s manager could be forgiven for wanting to know exactly what will be expected of him in N17 and more pertinently, if the Spurs hierarchy actually have any clear idea. Given that winning Bigger Vase and qualifying for next season’s Bigger Cup was not deemed good enough for Ange Postecoglou to keep his job, the Tottenham board have ostensibly made it clear that finishing higher up the Premier League than 17th is quite literally all that concerns them. “To dare is to do,” as the club motto says, just so long as you don’t dare to do anything so audacious as win a cup and seat at European football’s top table.

Among a small handful of top-flight managers who are almost universally liked and admired, Frank has long been renowned as a very straight talker. So much so that in any interview scenario between him and a prospective new employer, it is not difficult to imagine the Dane asking the more probing questions while his headhunter squirms in the face of a barrage of interrogatory projectiles. The second-longest serving manager in the Premier League behind Pep Guardiola, Frank ticks a number of the apparently requisite boxes for Spurs in so far as he has never won anything, hasn’t been relegated, doesn’t wang on about knack all the time and doesn’t say “mate” in a passive-aggressive way when the world is conspiring against him. And while his slow starts at Brondby and Brentford, where he won two out of his first 18 matches combined, may perturb a fanbase who are not exactly famous for their patience, he seems as good a choice as any for a club that increasingly seems to have little or no idea what it wants or who it needs to help them achieve it.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

The level will increase immediately once we are playing against Portugal or Spain. We will rise to the occasion. This will come. It will bring out the very best in us” – Thomas Tuchel, there, wrapping up some words in a big white sheet with two eyeholes cut into it, and inviting them to come back and haunt him.

Following last week’s balanced piece in Football Daily on how Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego continues to destroy Portugal’s chances of success, readers will look forward to some acknowledgement of that side’s Nations League victory. Perhaps focusing on how a 40-year-old Scotland captain, say, would be viewed if he had just led his country to a tournament final victory over England, scoring eight goals along the way including one in the final and the winner against Germany in the semi-final” – Brian Broderick.

If you do have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.

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Here’s David Squires on … the buildup to Gianni Infantino’s big, beautiful Club World Cup in the land of Trump.

Tottenham have approached Brentford over appointing Thomas Frank as their new head coach. The Dane is the club’s No 1 target to replace Ange Postecoglou, who was sacked on Friday, and there is confidence that a deal will be struck in the next 48 hours.

Negotiations are due to take place on the cost of recruiting Frank, who has a £10m release clause, and his backroom staff. The 51-year-old Dane wants to join Spurs after almost seven years at Brentford, with terms already in place.

Tottenham have moved swiftly after parting company with Postecoglou, who lost his job despite winning the Europa League last month and ending the club’s 17-year wait for a major trophy. The Australian’s fate was decided after the chairman, Daniel Levy, looked past the side’s European run and focused on a dreadful Premier League campaign.

Spurs finished 17th last season after losing 22 games. That has not made the job less attractive to Frank, who will be taking over a team that earned Champions League qualification thanks to their triumph against Manchester United in Bilbao.

Frank has established himself as one of the most respected managers in the top flight since leading Brentford to promotion from the Championship in 2021. They have steered clear of relegation battles and finished 10th last season. Frank has operated with a modest budget and has admitted that Brentford cannot hope to hold on to their best players if bigger clubs try to buy them. Bryan Mbeumo is expected to depart for Old Trafford this summer.

It remains to be seen how Brentford respond if everything goes smoothly with Spurs and Frank departs. Kieran McKenna has been suggested as a potential replacement for Frank but it is not clear if he wants to leave Ipswich Town.

Tottenham have sacked their women’s manager, Robert Vilahamn, two days after the men’s team manager, Ange Postecoglou, was relieved of his duties.

The 42-year-old joined Spurs in 2023 from the Swedish side BK Hacken and led them to a first FA Cup final in his first season in charge.

Tottenham finished sixth in the Women’s Super League that season, one point and one place below their best ever league finish, prompting the club to give him a three-year contract extension last July. The future had looked bright, with the manager adamant that their 2024 FA Cup run could catapult their growth.

“We perhaps shouldn’t be in the final this year, but we are in the final and we can win it,” he said before the 2024 final, which they lost 0-4 to Manchester United. “That’s the main thing we can try to do and if we fail, hopefully we are starting to grow for next year.”

However, after nine new signings in the summer, including the Australian forward Hayley Raso and Spain international Maite Oroz, the 2024-25 season was a very difficult one. The double loss of the loanee Grace Clinton, who returned to Manchester United, and Celin Bizet, who joined Clinton in Manchester, were huge blows and the team did not get close to matching the standards set the preceding year. They finished second from bottom, conceding 44 goals, a tally matched by Aston Villa and beaten only by relegated Crystal Palace.

The managing director of the women’s team, Andy Rogers, said: “There have been some special moments during Robert’s tenure, including reaching the FA Cup final for the first time.

“However, results and performances this season have not been to the level we would expect and now is the right time to make a change. We should like to thank Robert for his professionalism and efforts over the past two seasons, and we wish him well for the future.”

Mauricio Pochettino pushed back against suggestions he is a candidate to take over the newly-vacant Tottenham Hotspur managerial position, telling reporters on Saturday that it was “not realistic” for him to leave his current role as US men’s national team manager.

Pochettino had been considered a possible candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou, who was sacked by Tottenham on 6 June despite him leading the club to Europa League glory – the club’s first trophy in 17 years. However, Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League, their lowest position since 1977.

Pochettino enjoyed a successful run at Spurs from 2014 to 2019, challenging for the Premier League title in 2016 and advancing to the Champions League final in his last season. He was let go because of Tottenham’s league performance – the club finished 14th.

“After I left [Tottenham] in 2019, every time [the manager position] is free … my name appeared on the list,” Pochettino said following USA’s 2-1 loss to Turkey in a friendly on Saturday afternoon. “If you have seen the rumors, I think we are 100 coaches on the list of the club. Don’t be worried about that. If something happens, we for sure will see. But we cannot talk about this type of thing because I think today it’s not real. I think it’s not realistic. And look – where I am, where we are? The answer is so clear, no?”

Pochettino took over the US national team at the end of 2024 and has overseen a mixed bag of performances in his first nine months. Saturday’s friendly was seen mostly as a way to regain the team’s footing after a pair of far below-par outings in March’s Nations League finals, with the team losing to Panama and Canada and looking generally listless throughout.

Even though they lost, the US played with far more verve against Turkey than they had in March. Pochettino has called in a younger and less-experienced squad for this summer’s games, with several of the team’s first-choice stars out – either by choice, for health reasons, for personal reasons, or due to their club’s participation in the Club World Cup. Jack McGlynn, one of those newcomers, opened the scoring on Saturday with a signature curling effort from outside the box. Later that half, two defensive miscues in about three minutes doomed the Americans, with both resulting in goals.