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It has been reported that Thomas Frank had several misgivings about the Tottenham squad after arriving at Hotspur Way last summer.

The feeling around the club when Frank arrived was overwhelmingly positive, as Tottenham had just broken their trophy drought.

The club would have hoped that the former Brentford boss was the right man to sprinkle tactical maturity onto a squad which had played with plenty of flair under Ange Postecoglou but struggled defensively.

However, fast forward eight months, and the mood around Spurs is as bad as it has ever been, with Frank leaving Tottenham in the middle of a relegation battle.

Thomas Frank felt only Pedro Porro was elite in the Tottenham squad

The Times say that even though Frank was taking over a Europa League-winning team, he did not rate the squad as being good enough to compete at the top.

In fact, the Dane believed that only Pedro Porro was good enough to play for an elite European team among the squad he inherited.

Interestingly, Porro is one of just two Tottenham players to have thanked Frank publicly since his sacking, which perhaps shows what the squad thought of the 52-year-old.

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Frank was not convinced about Cristian Romero’s leadership qualities

The Times goes on to explain that Frank also felt that the Tottenham squad was lacking in leaders.

The Dane’s decision to hand the captain’s armband to Cristian Romero was not because he saw the Argentine as a natural leader, but rather because he felt there were no other leaders in the squad.

The report adds that some Tottenham players were surprised by how Romero was given space to do as much as he pleased during Frank’s tenure

Tottenham are still searching for their first league win of 2026, and their next opportunity to fix that is the North London Derby.

With Arsenal leading the pack in the Premier League and Spurs looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone, you’ll not find many fans who are feeling positive about the upcoming game.

Tottenham suffered another defeat this week, losing 2-1 to Newcastle on Tuesday night. Given the current plight of the squad, it’s not likely to get any better.

Thomas Frank thought he would be around for the North London Derby, but that won’t be the case now. However, he’s not the only man missing for the big game.

Here are all the first-team players who are set to be unavailable for the North London Derby.

Which Tottenham players are unavailable for the North London Derby?

Pedro Porro

Pedro Porro is one of two injured players who could potentially be back in time for the Arsenal game, though it’ll be cutting it very fine. Porro’s recovery timeline has him back to fitness around February 22, but whether he’ll be sharp enough for the game is another matter.

Richarlison

Like Porro, Richarlison is on his way back, but it’s touch-and-go whether he will be ready for the North London Derby. It’s unlikely he would start the game anyway, given Dominic Solanke’s form, but it would be great to have the Tottenham striker on the bench as a game-changing option.

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Kevin Danso

After Kevin Danso snapped a ligament in his toe, he went to see a consultant to assess the damage. We expect the defender will be out until around mid-March.

Destiny Udogie

Destiny Udogie returned to the Tottenham injury list again last week, leaving the field in the defeat to Manchester United. It’s thought Udogie will miss four more games, including the North London Derby.

Cristian Romero

After his red card against Man United, Cristian Romero picked up a four-game suspension. The Spurs skipper will miss the Arsenal game and two more after it, which is far from ideal.

Lucas Bergvall

Looking way beyond that, Lucas Bergvall’s ankle injury will keep him out of action until mid-April. Bergvall has undergone surgery on the injury and could end up missing 18 matches in total.

Ben Davies

Veteran defender Ben Davies is likely to miss the whole season. He’s in a similar situation to Bergvall, actually, and we shouldn’t expect to see the Welshman any time soon.

Mohammed Kudus

We’ll have to wait until after the March international break to catch a glimpse of Mohammed Kudus again. He picked up a thigh injury a month ago and will be out until early April, leaving Tottenham incredibly short in the wide areas.

Rodrigo Bentancur

Yet another injury for Rodrigo Bentancur means we will probably not see the Uruguayan midfielder in action this season. He’ll be out until early-May, but given how long he will have been out injured, he’ll be lacking in match sharpness and will need the summer to recover.

Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski is working hard behind the scenes to get back to full fitness and is focused on staying mentally sharp, too. His unusual knee injury has kept him out since the end of last season, and there is no real end in sight at the moment.

James Maddison

James Maddison has a long-standing knee injury that’s also kept him out since the end of last term, and we simply do not know when he will be back. It’s expected he will miss the entire season now, and he will have to wait until the summer to get going again.

Wilson Odobert

Thomas Frank has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur, so it is now time to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of his time at the club.

There has not been much for Tottenham Hotspur supporters to shout about over the past few months, and much of that is down to Thomas Frank.

The ex-Spurs manager has faced difficulties with shortages in the Tottenham first-team squad, but he still underperformed in the managerial role.

With the Dane’s reign now at its end, let’s take a look at his three best and worst matches during his time in North London, starting with the best…

Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham

Everyone was eager to see how Spurs would perform against Manchester City after they came so close to getting the better of PSG in the UEFA Super Cup.

Frank and his team certainly did not disappoint, as Tottenham entered the half-time break with a two-goal advantage.

City did miss some chances during the game, but it was a brilliant team performance from Spurs, with Joao Palhinha and Mohammed Kudus playing particularly well.

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There was absolute delirium in the away end and real belief that Frank was a manager who could adapt and find the right balance to bring down different opponents.

Tottenham 4-0 Copenhagen

The Champions League has been the saving grace of Tottenham’s season and the victory over Copenhagen might just be the best of the lot.

Spurs held a 2-0 lead and looked comfortable, but Brennan Johnson was sent off for a bad foul, meaning the game was far from over.

What happened next was truly magnificent, as Micky van de Ven dribbled from one box to the other and scored a goal which might even have one-upped Heung-min Son’s Puskas winner.

Tottenham were relentless in attack, even with 10 men, and recorded their most convincing triumph of the season up to this point.

Tottenham 2-0 Borussia Dortmund

Premier League matches which take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are a cause of dread, but Europe has truly been a different story.

Despite this, Spurs were still a long way off being the favourites when they hosted Borussia Dortmund last month in a very important game.

Tottenham surprisingly started the game very well and were helped when Daniel Svensson got himself sent off after just 26 minutes.

Dominic Solanke built on Cristian Romero’s opening goal with a bizarre finish, and the hosts were two goals ahead before the interval. It was a quiet second half, but Spurs were able to see out the victory and later went on to finish fourth in the league phase.

Now, onto Thomas Frank’s three worst games as Tottenham manager…

Arsenal 4-1 Spurs

For every good game this season, there have been multiple bad ones, and the North London derby was as terrible as it gets.

Tottenham put on a cowardly display against their rivals and played the game as if they were a non-league team taking on the best in the country.

It was truly embarrassing watching Spurs concede goal after goal, and what made it worse was when Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick, after his summer move to Tottenham was hijacked.

Frank faced a lot of pressure after this defeat. Looking back, it is a miracle that he held on to his job for as long as he did.

Nottingham Forest 3-0 Spurs

Getting thrashed by your rivals is bad, and suffering the same fate against a team fighting relegation is not much better.

Tottenham’s trip to the City Ground saw a mix-up between Guglielmo Vicario and Archie Gray and it just kept getting worse from that moment onwards.

Forest ran riot, and despite having more possession, they only managed to get one shot on target throughout the entire game.

It is crazy to think that Spurs have only recorded one victory in the Premier League since this game, which feels like it happened almost half a lifetime ago.

Tottenham 1-2 West Ham

It was tempting to put Tottenham’s draw with rock bottom Wolves on this list, but a home defeat to West Ham reaches another level of disappointment.

Spurs thrashed their London rivals back in September, and defeating them twice in one season should not have proved to be a problem.

However, Tottenham spent a large part of the game behind on the scoreboard, and even with a Romero equaliser, a win looked like a task too difficult.

Things then got even worse as Callum Wilson, who was linked with a move away from the Hammers, scored a winner in the 93rd minute. Believe it or not, this is a result which could actually come back to bite Spurs at the end of the season if they fail to improve.

Stan Collymore has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur should turn to some familiar faces to steer the ship for the time being and should appoint another ex-Spurs man in the summer.

The big question for Tottenham Hotspur is who they turn to next after the club decided to call time on Thomas Frank’s spell in N17.

Reports indicate that Tottenham are likely to appoint an interim head coach to see them through until the end of the season.

This could give the North Londoners more options to choose from in the summer, with several of their managerial targets out of contract in June.

Stan Collymore makes Harry Redknapp and Mauricio Pochettino suggestion to Tottenham

Collymore has now suggested that Spurs should turn to Harry Redknapp as the interim head coach, with Ryan Mason as his assistant, to galvanise the fan base.

The pundit then added that the Lilywhites could bring Mauricio Pochettino back to N17 at the end of the World Cup.

Collymore wrote on X: “Caretaker, I could see Harry as the Martin O’Neil rewind it back vibes with Ryan Mason doing the coaching. Piques supporters’ interest, a coach( like Carrick) with a point to prove while Harry gets the press off players and owners backs by holding court in pressers, post-match etc. Pochettino post WC after that ( unfinished business, etc etc)”

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Collymore is adamant Redknapp can handle the Spurs job

If Tottenham were stuck around midtable and had little to play for, one can argue that going back to someone like Redknapp may be a temporary solution.

However, Spurs are in the midst of a relegation battle right now, and a wrong step could have disastrous consequences.

Redknapp has not managed at the highest level for more than a decade, and the game has made multiple huge tactical leaps in that time. Some may thus see appointing the 78-year-old as a huge risk, but Collymore disagrees vehemently.

In a follow-up tweet, he wrote on X:” Anyone who’s managed a thousand games knows the ropes and more importantly, their own fallibility as they age, hence Harry is the ‘face’ while Mase plus one or two do the coaching.

“Martin O’Neil is doing diddly squat technical work at Celtic, he’s there to say to a club, supporters and owners, ‘Chill Winston, your comfort blanket is here’. Harry has enough in him for 5 months.”

Glenn Hoddle has called on Tottenham Hotspur not to hide away from their current reality after their loss to Newcastle United on Tuesday.

The most worrying thing about Spurs’ horror show against Newcastle was the fact that it was almost expected.

All of what we saw, including the abject performance, the inability to create chances, and the constant jeers from the crowd, have been regular occurrences at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season.

The 2-1 loss finally forced the Spurs hierarchy to sack Thomas Frank, and in truth, it did not seem like they had any other choice.

Glenn Hoddle says Tottenham must acknowledge they are in a relegation battle

The result has seen Spurs drop to 16th place in the table, with the Lilywhites now just five points ahead of West Ham in 18th.

Hoddle believes that Tottenham have to now acknowledge that they are at genuine risk of going down and should scrap for every point.

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The Spurs legend told TNT Sports after the North Londoners lost to Newcastle: “You’ve got to say what it is, and they are in a relegation fight. The players have to understand that, and the fans have to understand that. It is the reality, and you have to scrap for every single point.”

Spurs fans need to accept the new normal over the next few months

It is understandable that Tottenham fans want to set high standards and do not accept abject performances like the ones that have been commonplace this season.

However, given the turmoil that Spurs are in at the moment, including their horrible injury situation, the supporters need to temporarily adjust their expectations over the next few months.

There is no point in jeering or expressing frustration when the team is not playing well and trying their best to hang on.

Scrapping for every point in a relegation battle also requires the fans to do their part and to get behind the team for 90 minutes, even if they are not dictating proceedings like Tottenham fans want to see.

The vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur continues to draw attention from familiar faces, with another former manager now publicly signalling his interest as the club weigh their next move.

The Tottenham Hotspur managerial hot seat is currently vacant following the sacking of Thomas Frank.

The Dane looked very much out of his depth as he struggled to stop Spurs’ poor form in the Premier League, and that ultimately led Tottenham to pull the plug.

The former Tottenham boss is yet to speak out since his dismissal, but that has not prevented a few of his Spurs players from wishing him well in the future.

Tottenham interim search sees Harry Redknapp enter frame

Spurs will now be on the lookout for new managerial options, with contingencies reported to be in place following Frank’s dismissal.

Securing an interim boss could well be the next course of action for Tottenham before they regroup and reassess in the summer.

A former Tottenham manager has now gone on to throw his name in the hat as a potential managerial option for Spurs, with Harry Redknapp addressing the possibility while speaking to Sky Sports News.

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Harry Redknapp said: “Of course I would want the Tottenham job! Could I do it? Of course I could… They have got my number. If anyone wants to ring me, they know where I am.”

When addressing whether the club would turn to him, he added: “I am a realist.”

Redknapp and Tim Sherwood join the queue for interim Spurs role

Redknapp is far from the only former Tottenham manager to put his name in the hat as a potential option for the vacant role.

Tim Sherwood has also revealed that he is open to taking up the Spurs job on an interim basis before stating that Mauricio Pochettino will eventually be the appointment for the summer.

Pedro Porro is the latest Tottenham Hotspur player to send a message to Thomas Frank following his dismissal earlier today.

Thomas Frank became the 16th Tottenham Hotspur boss to be sacked in the last 24-plus years in north London this morning.

The Dane was also the first to receive the axe in what is a new era following Daniel Levy’s departure from Tottenham last year.

It just did not work out for Frank and Spurs, with results ultimately proving to be the reason for his dismissal, as he has Tottenham in 16th place and has managed just 29 points from 26 games.

Pedro Porro sends message after Tottenham sack Thomas Frank

The Tottenham players will now have to get used to yet another manager following the sacking of Frank.

Thankfully for them, though, they should have enough time to meet with the next manager well in advance of their next Premier League game, set to come in 11 days.

Following Frank’s sacking this morning, Pedro Porro has now taken to social media to send a message to the former Tottenham boss, posting on Instagram.

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The Spurs full-back said in an Instagram story: “Thank you very much and the best for your career boss! A pleasure.”

Spurs dressing room reaction begins to emerge

Porro is not the only Spurs player to have sent a message to Frank, as Joao Palhinha also took to social media to bid the former Tottenham boss farewell.

Both players were key and integral to Frank’s setup, with Porro featuring for 2,785 minutes in all competitions and grabbing five assists.

While Palhinha played 2,215 minutes and managed eight goal contributions, scoring five times and assisting three.

A former Spurs boss has now thrown his name into the mix as Tottenham Hotspur begin search for a new manager following Thomas Frank’s dismissal.

Thomas Frank’s sacking will come as a surprise to few, given how poorly Tottenham Hotspur have performed under him in the last eight months in the Premier League.

Last season, Spurs finished 17th in the league but still managed a piece of silverware under Ange Postecoglou, but that was enough to keep the Australian in the Tottenham dugout.

Frank, on the other hand, was on course for a worse finish than Postecoglou, as he left Tottenham in 16th place, with three points separating Spurs from Nottingham Forest in 17th and five points the difference between them and 18th-place West Ham United.

After delaying the inevitable, attention now turns to the future for Spurs as they are set to spend the next couple of days securing a new manager.

Talk of an interim manager being the route Spurs will take following Frank’s departure has been doing the rounds.

There are several interim options Tottenham could consider ahead of their next game, which is eleven days from now, and the Spurs faithful have even begun naming their favourite temporary boss.

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Former Tottenham man Tim Sherwood has now named who he thinks will be the likely option, while also throwing his hat into the mix, explaining his thinking while speaking to Sky Sports.

He said: “I genuinely believe they are going to give it to Johnny Heitinga. He is a man who is there already; he has had experience as a manager, did not work out great for him obviously, at Ajax.

“But his being with Tottenham in the Premier League is a great opportunity for someone who is not in a job to go in there.

“It is a club that I love, I know a lot about it, I have spent many years there in different capacities and you know it needs someone to give it a lift at the moment, whether that is me or whoever they decide to bring in, they have got a tough job on their hands. Because let us face it in the summer it is going to be Pochettino.

“It will be impossible, or almost impossible, for Tottenham to look beyond Mauricio Pochettino, with the clamour from the Tottenham support to bring the man back to the club.

“So, whoever goes in there is just going in for 12 games or 13, whatever it is, plus that Champions League run. There is no future at the club for that person. So there will be very few who would want to put their hands up or put themselves up for offer for 12 games.”

Is Tim Sherwood a good fit for Tottenham?

Sherwood could very much be a name that Tottenham consider as they look to decide in the coming days.

The former Spurs midfielder has had two stints at the club in a managerial capacity, once in a permanent role and another as a caretaker.

In those two stints, he managed a total of 28 games – he recorded 14 wins, ten defeats and four draws, with an average of 1.65 points per game.

Spurs need to avoid relegation, which is no easy task for any manager, but having someone who knows the club in and out could very much be what is required to turn things around.

Michael Carrick at Manchester United is a good example of such, and perhaps Sherwood could have a similar impact on Tottenham.

Tottenham Hotspur’s injury problems keep on piling up, with another player now facing an extended spell on the sidelines.

Spurs were without 10 players for the clash against Newcastle United, which proved to be the final game in charge of the Lilywhites for Thomas Frank.

Cristian Romero was suspended, while Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus, Ben Davies, Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Pedro Porro and Richarlison are all on the treatment table.

Another player has now been added to Tottenham’s ever-growing injury list after he was forced off in the 2-1 loss to the Magpies.

Wilson Odobert could miss the rest of Tottenham’s season

Wilson Odobert had to be placed after just 35 minutes on Tuesday night, with the Frenchman appearing to have jarred his knee while landing awkwardly.

La Parisien are now reporting that preliminary medical tests have been conducted on the Tottenham winger, and it is very bad news for him.

The checks have shown that Odobert has torn the ACL in his left knee, which means that the former Burnley man faces an extended spell on the sidelines.

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It is explained that the 21-year-old will require surgery before beginning treatment, and his season could be over.

Frank’s replacement faces a serious challenge to avoid relegation

The Tottenham squad is now down to its bare bones, and with many key players not expected to be back for several weeks, the club are at risk of being pulled closer to the relegation zone.

Reports indicate that Spurs are likely to turn to an interim manager until the end of the season.

The man who takes the reins faces an almighty challenge as he has to cope with double-digit absentees and find a way to get the Lilywhites up the table.

One Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has become the first player to send a message to outgoing manager Thomas Frank.

Wednesday morning saw Tottenham make the decision to sack Thomas Frank, with the club clearly recognising that relegation is a clear possibility.

Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham suggested Frank needed to be fired, and this recommendation was accepted by the Lewis Family.

It is not yet known how the Tottenham first-team squad feel about the Spurs hierarchy’s decision, but there were rumours that Frank had lost faith from parts of the dressing room.

Joao Palhinha sends a message to Thomas Frank

Joao Palhinha has become the first Tottenham Hotspur player to send Frank a message since his departure, and it does not give much away about his feelings on the matter.

The Portuguese midfielder simply posted “Thank you for everything coach,” on his Instagram story, with a picture of the pair standing together pitchside.

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Palhinha was not selected to start as Spurs suffered a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle, in what turned out to be Frank’s final game. However, he did replace Yves Bissouma at half-time, making his 34th appearance in all competitions under the Dane’s leadership.

Palhinha’s Tottenham future is currently unknown

There was a period when Palhinha was starting for Spurs every week, but Frank eventually gave in to the pressure not to keep pairing him with Rodrigo Bentancur.

As a result of this, the 30-year-old has been used as a substitute on a number of occasions, leading to questions over whether it is worth signing him permanently.

Reports back in October tended to suggest that Tottenham would indeed sign Palhinha permanently for £26m, but a lot has changed since then.

Ultimately, it will be up to the new manager to decide if Palhinha is wanted, and this could well depend on the style of play he chooses to implement.

One London rival is expected to pounce if Tottenham do not sign Palhinha.