Here's every single word the Tottenham Hotspur head coach said on Friday ahead of the Premier League match against Manchester United
Thomas Frank faced the media at his press conference on Friday afternoon ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League match against Manchester United.
Spurs got back on track with a 4-0 victory in the Champions League against Copenhagen on Tuesday night, including a remarkable box-to-box individual effort from Micky van de Ven. Now the north London outfit will face a United side arriving off the back of four wins and a draw in their past six matches, including victories for Ruben Amorim's side against Chelsea and Liverpool.
Ahead of the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Frank delivered an update on Mohammed Kudus, who missed the Champions League win with a knock, and Dominic Solanke, who has been out for two-and-a-half months with an ankle problem that has dogged him since the summer.
Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank ahead of the game against United. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.
What's the team news after Tuesday night and how is Mohammed Kudus?
Yes everyone came through well, so it's good. We'll say the ones that have been out for a small spell, Cuti and Dest, responded well so fit and available. Kudus is touch and go for tomorrow, we'll see.
What gives you the confidence that tomorrow we'll see a performance more like Tuesday night's than last Saturday's?
I always believe when going to every game that we will put a good performance out there and do well. I think what gives me some confidence that we'll put a good performance out there is that I think most of the performances we've put out this year have been good.
In general over the season, we're not talking about home, there's been some that have not been top. Two of them, don't want to run away from that, was against Bournemouth and Chelsea at home, where the two teams did very well and we on the day didn't find the right solutions to match them. But I'm very confident because I think I see the right layers, the attitude of the players, the ability to want to improve.
It's another big game coming up that we're ready for, that we're looking forward to, get the fans behind us and we're ready to do everything we can to win the game.
Do you think Xavi Simons is a confidence player and do you think the burden of being the main creative output in the absence of Kulusevski and Maddison is something that he is taking on and comfortable with?
I think every player needs confidence. Every player does that. The best in the world, everyone. Some can say when you go to a new club, I think it's a little bit more evident that it's not that easy just to hit the ground running, but the more confidence you get, the better you play, the more you play, the more relationship you find out to get with your team-mates step by step.
I agree, I think Xavi had a good performance. I think it was positive with a lot of bits. I still think it was a good step. I still think there's a lot of layers to be added to his game, but I was happy with his performance.
On Destiny, just how much have you been having to support him one-to-one and has he come to you for support? Has he seemed different, more subdued?
I think the club of course... it's a terrible situation to have been in. I can't speak too much about it, it's a legal case as we know. The club and we have done everything we can to support him and we'll do that. He's clearly doing well on the pitch which is good and we'll keep supporting him.
Do you get the sense that the players are feeling a weight on their shoulders whenever they do play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?
I think this is a big shirt to wear in many ways. Should be proud. It should be something you're really excited about, wearing this beautiful shirt, playing home and away. It shouldn't matter to play home. It should be a massive boost. When we play at home, we should feel even more confident, even more aligned, even more willing to do everything.
I understand that the stats are not too good over a long time. For me now there's a new opportunity and a new opportunity we need to embrace in the best possible way. Coming out there against a great Man United team that's in great form, it'll be a great game and we'll do everything we can to get out on top.
In terms of Man United, most of their Premier League points this season have come when they have had less than 50 per cent possession in games. How do you expect them to play tomorrow and how will you try to look to counter that?
I think, first and foremost, you can see it's a United team that has got more confidence, definitely. I think Ruben and his coaching staff have done a very good job. It's clearly been a tough year for them and for him. I admire him a lot for that, to go through a very tricky spell with a lot of setbacks. To get through that with that focus is well done.
You can see the bits he's been working on, it's more and more clear. I think it's also clear that he plays not only a system but a specific way, which they're very good at and getting better and better at. Right now they are in a moment where they have more or less every key player available and he's found his team, played more or less the same team in the last four or five games.
We know exactly what to expect from them. I think they have an incredibly dangerous front three. They're starting to get more up to pace and we need to close them down.
But on the flip side, make sure they run a little bit more backwards because we attack them.
One of those key players is someone you know really well, Bryan Mbeumo, he's been named October's Premier League Player of the Month. How pleased are you to see how he's doing? I imagine you're not surprised at that?
No, I'm not surprised. Of course I'll step out of my role at Tottenham. When you work with a player for six years, you get a close relationship. To see him develop from being a young man, 19-years-old when he moved to London and Brentford and left six years later, going into one of the biggest clubs in the world with all that focus and the way he stepped up. For me, looking from the outside, maybe a little bit biased, I think he's been their best offensive player.
He can create, he can score, he works hard, he's a team player. He's the perfect example, in my opinion, for a player what I call about attitude, confident but humble. He's a top player. I think he will have fantastic success there. I hope that for him, not tomorrow, but in general I hope and wish him all the best.
You've been here three months, has it gone how you expected and are we now seeing a Thomas Frank Spurs or is that still a work in progress?
That will be a work in progress. No doubt about that. I think the first three months have been super exciting. A big learning curve because I think if you're not humble enough to learn of course every single day. You walk into a new club, you learn the players, you learn the staff, you learn about the club, you learn about how it works, the fans, everything. But I think it's been overall fine.
I think we've been doing quite well to be able to get the amount of points we got in the Champions League and in the Premier League, competing in two fronts at the same time. I think that's been quite good in terms of how we play. I think there's been some really positive bits, especially on the defensive side and set-pieces.
We're clearly adding layers to the offensive part of the game. I think we're far from where I want us to be. I'm not in doubt we'll get there, but we're taking steps in the right direction.
About the learning curve, when you first went into Brentford, is it not the same learning curve, but just a little bit steeper because the size of the club is bigger?
I think I said it before. Learning, I think, when I walked in here, it's different. No, it's not different. In some ways, it's exactly the same.
It's coaching 11 players, put a game plan up, evaluate a little bit, nurturing their egos, show them they're good enough, take them up when it's not going too well, manage expectation from the outside, a little bit more questions, try to implement the culture. All that is exactly the same. It's just different people.
The level of what you want to do in terms of tactical is a little bit because they came from another set-up. Not worse, not better, just another set-up. So you try to implement your principles the way you want to do it with culture, with my fantastic staff around me.
So when I say the learning curve, it's to learn the people, how they function in good days and bad days, how the team reacts to a disappointing game against Chelsea. We love the response. So all those bits, that's learning.
How you find out what's the right players that play together, what is the relationship on and off the pitch. The staff, the board, all that, that's learning. The last days in Brentford, I could walk in, not say anything, walk out, and I just knew it would be smooth, easy. Now, it's a few more hard yards, but it's part of it.
Is it good for players to have egos? How difficult is that to control?
I think we all have egos. Even you. And even I. No, we all have it because if we don't have an ego I don't think none of you would be in this room in your position. I would not be sitting here. Some are just a little bit better to manage it themselves. Others need a little bit of guidance. So, yeah, that's part of it.
You've said you expect more steps forward from Kolo Muani, is that fitness or sharpness or both?
I think it's a little bit of both. I think sharpness because fitness-wise, he is fit to start and play and he played against Chelsea 70 minutes ago? And then 75 against Copenhagen, so he is that, but to do it at the highest possible intensity throughout 90 minutes, I don't think he's there yet. But also to have that sharpness where you don't think in your action, you just do it intuitively. I think that bit, he's getting there. I think it was a very promising game against Copenhagen and I think he's on the right track.
How is he different to Richarlison and Solanke?
I think he's got a little bit, I think Solanke also is quite good to run behind, but I think maybe a little bit of that pace down the side, I think that's a bit of it. I think he's in general, just talking about him, I like his combination play, I like his link-up play. Well, I just think he's a good player.
How is Solanke, is he on track to come back quickly after the international break?
Yeah, I think the international break will be the big deciding factor because we have two weeks there to push in the next steps. As I say, it's going forward. Just to take it instead of the questions every single time because it was clearly that he was not ready before the international break. It's more, we look after the international break, that's what we're aiming for. I think we always want to get it right, but I think it's important to get it right so he's out there, can help the team and we need him back.
Dane Scarlett had a positive impact on Tuesday, he’s been talked up a lot by previous managers, what does he need to fulfil his potential here with so much competition?
I think with Dane, first of all, I think he's a great player. I think he's a fantastic finisher. He finishes at a very, very high level, left and right foot. I think probably he needs the bits that every player needs. He needs to play minutes and games. That's the biggest thing and right now the competition is tough here. And to be able to give him, let's say, three, four, five games in a row is probably a little bit difficult. It's never impossible, but it's a little bit difficult. So, for me, he needs to play games.
With Xavi and Wilson Odobert, it feels like they clicked instantly and they played together at PSG’s academy, how quickly did you see that and how eager are you to build on that?
Yeah, I agree. I think that little bit, let's say, between the two of them, you all know it when you see two players that get along well outside the pitch, they also tend to find each other on the pitch a little bit. They just know, ‘I go, if you run there, I run there. If I play around the corner, he'll be in. Now he runs deep or whatever it is,’ and I think that helps definitely. Because I also think they have more natural conversations about, ‘OK, if I turn here, then you run down there. Or if you turn, I want the ball there, whatever it is,’ so, I think that's important. We've seen it plenty of times with players in the past in different clubs.
How eager are you to build on that? Two big price tags on their head but with Wilson, slowly showing his worth?
I think, as I said to Wilson before, I think he looks right when he's out there on the pitch. I'm happy that he got his goal against Copenhagen. I think he looks lively. He's always there, he wants the ball and he's not afraid to get it into feet. Under pressure, he's good to arrive in the box. He's alert. The goal is actually a good example of that a little bit impossible ball that Kolo Muani is chasing down and maybe, does he get that? Doesn't he get that? But he believes, so, Wilson is on the way quite early. That means he's in a perfect position to have a relatively easy goal. Others could maybe just leave it. So, he's constantly alive with his eyes and he is aware.
The atmosphere was rocking on Tuesday, probably the best you’ve seen it, how much did you enjoy it and how much do you want that again on Saturday?
Yeah, the stadium was really rocking. It was great to see and experience definitely. As I said many times before, I think it needs to be a collaborative approach between fans and players together. We just want to do everything we can to get over the line and win a game. The more we can push each other to bring that positive energy in, the better. That will be both ways. We will do everything we can to perform, to come flying out, to be on top of the game. Some parts of the game we will not, because we face a good team and no team will have momentum in 90 minutes, but that positivity, we definitely need to build on that.
