Football London

The Tottenham Hotspur head coach has been speaking about one of his predecessors after the Argentine was speaking about Spurs this week

Thomas Frank believes that if the Tottenham fans sing Mauricio Pochettino's name rather than his own during Tuesday night's crunch clash with Newcastle then it is "well deserved" for the Argentine.

With Spurs struggling under Frank this season, with just two wins from their past 16 Premier League matches, the supporters have sung for Pochettino at times in recent weeks, including during Saturday's defeat at Old Trafford. The 53-year-old led the north London club to three top three finishes along with another top four finish as they reached the Champions League final in 2019, months before he was sacked after five-and-a-half years at the helm.

Tottenham have been on a downward curve on the pitch since and this week Pochettino appeared on the High Performance podcast and spoke passionately about Tottenham and how the club, currently sat 15th in the table, should be fighting for the Premier League and Champions League.

Far from believing that the words of Pochettino, currently boss of the USA national team, and the chants for him are disrespectful, Frank feels they are warranted.

"I met Mauricio a few times, great guy, a great coach. I think he’s a legend (here). I don’t think he won a trophy but he was part of transforming the club, from where it was at that stage, to where it ended being in terms of being close to winning the Premier League title," he said.

"Getting into the Champions League final. If you are close, then you are very close to winning it. Sometimes it’s football, it’s margins. Pochettino did a top job here and is a true legend, so if the fans sing his name it’s well deserved."

With Tottenham sitting just six points above West Ham in the Premier League's drop zone, there seemed to be a very deliberate stance from Frank of swerving the word 'relegation' at his press conference on Monday. The 52-year-old used it only once in passing despite nine questions about Spurs being in a relegation battle.

Instead he used the word "desperate" eight times to describe how Tottenham need to get points to move up the table. Newcastle know the pain of relegation, having gone down in 2009, and Frank finally used the word he was desperately trying to avoid while admitting that nobody is too good to fall out of the Premier League.

"That's 100 per cent fair. Every club should do whatever they can to perform every single game and do everything they can to end as high as possible," said the Dane. "The Premier League is one of the most competitive leagues in the world. I think if we were a little bit higher then you’d say ‘is top four the end?’ Now it’s not as high, then 'is relegation the end’? For me, no matter what, I will only focus on the next game."

So is it a problem that Tottenham don't see that they are in a relegation battle right now?

"I will repeat myself a bit. We will do everything we can and if we see a team that isn’t running or not fighting and trying to win the next game, it’s about that," Frank said in response. "We can talk about bottom of the table, top of the table, it’s about the next game. I’m fully, fully focused about that.

"One thing’s for sure, if you’re too afraid to achieve whatever you want to achieve, you can’t focus on your take. You need to focus on your next game and do everything you can to win that, and then, also of course because we haven’t won enough games, it would give a little bit more momentum and confidence."

Both Tottenham and Newcastle have struggled to cope with both their Premier League and Champions League demands and Frank admitted the physical load has been problematic for the squad.

"I can’t speak 100 per cent on behalf of Newcastle. For Tottenham, you say in Europe 18 out of 20 seasons, of course I can’t speak the first 16/17 of those. Some of them are a way off. It’s fair to say there’s very few players left from the current squad," he said. "Clearly we as a squad, it’s relatively transparent we struggled playing Premier League and Europa League last season.

"And we are still struggling a little bit with that. It’s something we need to build on in terms of physical and mental robustness.

"It’s not only young players. f you’re robust, physically and mentally, you can be 19-years-old or you can be 38. It’s just to find players who can do that.

"The Premier League definitely is very competitive, probably the most competitive it’s been in the five years I’ve been there. It’s made it very, very difficult every game. That’s part of it. We like that challenge, no problem. You can see the clubs playing in Europe are challenged a bit more. Some of them are more used to it and they’re not as challenged."

Frank will go into Tuesday night's game against Eddie Howe's struggling team with Djed Spence back in contention but having lost Destiny Udogie to a hamstring injury for up to five weeks. Worryingly when asked if he expected Dejan Kulusevski to play this season amid his ongoing knee problems, the Spurs boss could only say: "I don't know."

With captain Cristian Romero suspended for four matches after his red card in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday, Frank confirmed that Micky van de Ven will take the armband.

"He’s young, 24 I think. It’s not the first time he’s been captain this season, it must be at least four or five times," said the Dane. "I think he still needs to learn and bring bits, but there’s both communication and calmness and interaction with his team-mates and do his job on the pitch, of course."

Frank could hand 19-year-old left-back Souza his home debut after the £13million January signing from Santos did well during his first appearance at Old Trafford.

"He did very well, I’m very happy for him. Coming from Brazil, 19-years-old, to Tottenham, to the Premier League, getting his debut in one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. That’s a big thing so I hope him and his family are proud," said the Spurs boss.

"He did 40 minutes last time didn’t he... so I hope he is [ready to play against Newcastle]. He’s still shortish [on fitness] but I liked what I saw from him when he came on, nice and positive."

Tottenham refused to let Radu Dragusin leave the club during the January transfer window and he could now be set for a run of games in the starting XI

Thomas Frank has paid tribute to Radu Dragusin as the Romanian prepares to embark on a run of games in the Tottenham starting XI.

The former Genoa central defender has endured a rollercoaster ride since joining Spurs in January 2024 and has not long returned from a long-term knee injury.

Captain Cristian Romero is now banned for the club's next four Premier League matches and with Kevin Danso also sidelined with a toe injury, Dragusin should partner Micky van de Ven at the back or start in a three-man defence.

Frank has praised the 24-year-old, stating ahead of Tuesday's game against Newcastle: “I think he has done great to come back, he has looked good the two games he has played and he looks strong and I like that. I think as a defender he is very good. He is alert.

"His movement, the way he anticipates the different situations, the way he tries to do the principles I really like and he is really competitive in every aspect. He is fine, he is strong and he is ready to go again tomorrow.”

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Dragusin was hot property during the January transfer window when he attracted interest from a cluster of clubs including Roma, Fiorentina, RB Leipzig, Juventus and Napoli.

Roma had a loan offer rejected and Dragusin's agent Florin Manea was hopeful his client would be allowed to leave the club.

But things change quickly at Tottenham and the Romania international will now receive a respectable amount of minutes and it's up to him to keep his place in the side.

He has also been added to Spurs' Champions League squad for the knockout stages after missing the first half of the season through injury. Spurs also have a north London derby against Arsenal on the horizon.

Young left-back Souza also made his debut from the bench in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Frank is hopeful the Brazilian will now be ready to help Spurs from here on in following his January switch from Santos, adding: “He did very well, I’m very happy for him.

"Coming from Brazil, 19-years-old, to Tottenham, to the Premier League, getting his debut in one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. That’s a big thing so I hope he and his family are proud.”

Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media during his pre-match press conference ahead of Tottenham's Premier League match against Newcastle on Tuesday

Thomas Frank admits he doesn't know whether Dejan Kulusevski will be ready to play again for Tottenham this season.

The Swede, who underwent knee surgery after damaging his right patella against Crystal Palace last May, is yet to kick a ball for Spurs this term.

Frank has now issued a bleak update after recently excluding the attacking midfielder from his updated Champions League squad.

He said: "Deki has got another appointment at end of this week where we’ll know more, but of course out of Champions League, is a sign it’s not tomorrow."

When asked whether Kulusevski will play at all this season, the Dane replied: "I don't know."

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There was further bad news too on Destiny Udogie, who suffered a muscle issue in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.

Frank has now confirmed the Italian left-back is facing a spell on the sidelines, explaining: "Unfortunately Destiny has a hamstring injury, he will be out for 4-5 weeks."

Centre-back Kevin Danso will also be out for "weeks" after snapping a ligament in his toe, though he's currently under the supervision of a medical consultant.

In a rare much-needed boost, Djed Spence will be available to face Newcastle after recovering from a calf problem.

Tottenham will of course be without suspended captain Cristian Romero following his red card against Manchester United.

Spurs are currently six points ahead of 18th place West Ham but Frank refused to be drawn on the notion his side face getting sucked into a relegation battle.

He said: “There is no doubt we are desperate to win games. Desperate. I am focusing on Newcastle tomorrow. That is a great opportunity ahead of us against a good team. That is the main thing."

Tottenham have already squared off against the Magpies twice this season, once in the Carabao Cup (2-0 defeat) and once in the Premier League (2-2 draw).

Mauricio Pochettino fought valiantly to keep the Tottenham statement from coming out

Mauricio Pochettino's former number two Jesus Perez has revealed that Tottenham bosses tried to convince the management duo to release a statement that could have have set Harry Kane's career on a completely different path.

Tottenham were in the market for a new forward during the 2014 summer transfer window and had their sights firmly set on Manchester United wonderkid Danny Welbeck. However, the striker signed for north London rivals Arsenal instead in a £16million deal.

If Tottenham had signed Welbeck, Kane would have been shipped out. To save face and play down any talk that they had been pipped by their biggest rivals, Tottenham wanted Pochettino to release a statement saying that he did not want another attacker anyway because he was happy with a then-20-year-old Kane providing back-up for Roberto Soldado and Emmanual Adebayor.

Perez thinks that if Pochettino had gone ahead with the club's wishes, it could have unsettled his young star.

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"It was key in that moment the way Mauricio protected Harry," Perez said on the High Performance Podcast. "I remember a meeting that was tough with the club in terms of communication.

"It was public that Welbeck could come and join the team therefore Harry would like to go.

"But once Welbeck signed for Arsenal, the club suggested that Mauricio should do a statement saying 'I am happy with the three strikers'.

"Mauricio said 'that is not necessary for me to say. If I say that then I am giving the impression to Harry that I really wanted another one to come and not him'.

From day one I was very happy to Harry to stay with us and to take time to succeed. That statement never came out. It was super important to protect Harry and to give the feel of 'I really trust you'.

"It was not up to Mauricio to say that. There are those things in management that nobody sees but define the career of a player."

Perez was asked if Kane would have been under a lot more pressure if the statement had gone out, to which he replied: "Yeah, easy. It looks like the statement was to protect ourselves [and say] 'we are happy with these guys'.

"But why are you taking a statement? It is probably because you were after another one."

Pochettino added: "I was happy with those three. I didn't need to make statements because I'm not bothered what people think."

The North London derby will be one of four matches that Cristian Romero will miss for Tottenham after picking up his second red card of the season against Manchester United

Jay Bothroyd believes Cristian Romero should be stripped as Tottenham Hotspur captain, labelling the Argentina defender as a "liability".

Romero, 27, was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Manchester United midfielder Casemiro inside the first half-hour of their 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford. The centre-back caught his South American counterpart high on the ankle after a 50/50 challenge inside the Spurs half, which means he will miss their next four matches, including the North London derby against Arsenal on February 22.

It was the second red card of the season after the central defender was sent off during their defeat against Liverpool in December for a second bookable offence. Romero now has six red cards in 152 matches for Spurs and the recent dismissal comes in light of his shock comments on social media taking aim at the club's transfer policy during the transfer window.

Bothroyd argued that the 27-year-old should be leading by example and despite being one of the best defenders in the Premier League, the Argentina international is proving to be a liability.

He said: "Of course he is [a liability]. I think as a captain, you should be leading by example on and off the field.

"You're going to have tough times, Tottenham are having a tough time right now, whether we like it or not, Romero is one of the top defenders in the Premier League when he is on his game, when he's not having these discliplinary problems, he's one of the best.

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"He's fast, strong, he scores goals, good in both boxes but he has become a liability. I'm surprised Thomas Frank for sticking by him, I have to commend him for that because I would look at him and say, 'I can't trust him anymore, he is a liability', I think they should strip him of the captaincy."

Dermot Gallagher was also speaking as part of Ref Watch and he described the tackle from the Spurs captain as "really, really" poor.

He said: "Really, really poor challenge. It looks a poor challenge and when you look close up, it's a really poor challenge.

"What I will say, it's a good identification from the referee, recognises it and deals with it, it's a really poor challenge. When I refereed, if someone went in with a straight leg it's much more dangerous than a bent leg because it's so forceful.

"With the considerations, it doesn't have to tick them all, if you look at that tackle, intensity, degree of control and the force, it ticks enough boxes."

Romero will begin his suspension on Tuesday when Newcastle United visit North London. It's a crucial game for both clubs with Spurs languishing in 14th while the Magpies were booed off on Saturday after their 3-2 defeat at home to Brentford.

The final match of his suspension will be against Crystal Palace after missing Arsenal and Fulham, before returning in mid-March when Thomas Frank's side travel to Liverpool.

Tottenham host Newcastle in Premier League action on Tuesday night as they bid to respond to Saturday's underwhelming 2-0 defeat at Manchester United

Eddie Howe has issued a Newcastle injury update ahead of his side's trip to the capital to face Tottenham.

The Magpies have not won in the Premier League since they beat Leeds 4-3 in dramatic fashion on January 7 but Spurs are also enduring a rough patch.

Newcastle could yet be without Anthony Gordon and Lewis Miley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but Howe is hoping they could yet provide him with a much-needed late boost.

Howe told reporters in the North East on Monday morning: "I need to see Lewis today. It was a nasty bang and it's dragged on. I'll check on Anthony again today. Hopefully we'll see a big improvement."

England winger Gordon picked up a hamstring issue during the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat at Manchester City last week.

Meanwhile, Howe will be without key midfielder Joelinton, who is currently nursing a knee problem.

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Thomas Frank has his fair share of availability issues also as the pressure continues to mount on the under-fire Dane in north London.

Cristian Romero's red card ban is hardly helpful and Spurs are waiting to discover whether Micky van de Ven will be back and ready to help the team following a hamstring issue.

Kevin Danso has a toe injury, Destiny Udogie picked up a fitness problem in the defeat at Old Trafford and that means young signing Souza is currently the club's first-choice left-back as Djed Spence and Ben Davies are also absent.

Right-back Pedro Porro is also missing while Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mo Kudus and Richarlison remain sidelined.

Spurs need a win as they're now just six points ahead of 18th-place West Ham, who have hit form in recent weeks.

Tottenham also face Arsenal and Liverpool in their next five Premier League matches.

They have already played Newcastle twice this season at St James' Park, losing 2-0 in the Carabao Cup before drawing 2-2 in the Premier League back in December.

Romero was on target twice during that match and scored a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time.

Thomas Frank is holding his latest press conference on Monday afternoon as Tottenham prepare to welcome Newcastle in the Premier League.

Spurs' unbeaten four game streak came to an end on Saturday at Old Trafford with a 2-0 defeat to Michael Carrick's Manchester United side after playing for more than an hour with only 10 men after captain Cristian Romero's sixth red card since arriving in the Premier League.

The Argentine will miss the next four matches through suspension and the skipper's absence comes at a time when Tottenham are just six points above 18th-placed West Ham and have won just two of their past 16 Premier League matches. Frank also must contend with a lengthy injury list that was added to by Destiny Udogie on Saturday afternoon.

Frank will deliver the latest news on the Italian and is also likely to be asked for his reaction to former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino reiterating his desire yet again to return to the club one day, while stating that the Europa League trophy is not enough for a club like Tottenham.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Frank ahead of the game against Eddie Howe's side. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

There has been a lot of talk over a potential takeover at Tottenham Hotspur, following the exit of Daniel Levy

Former Tottenham owner Alan Sugar has shared a theory that Joe Lewis could be set to sell the club. Lewis transferred the ownership of Spurs to the Lewis Family trust in 2022.

The Lewis family assumed full ownership of the club last year, following the ext of Daniel Levy, Tottenham's leadership now comprises Joe's daughter Vivienne, son Charles and Vivienne's husband Nick Beucher.

Tottenham’s current position of 15th place in the Premier League table, not only puts pressure on manager Thomas Frank, but also on the club’s ownership as fans shown their dissatisfaction.

Tottenham were active in the January transfer window, spending a total of £48 million on the arrivals of Conor Gallagher and full-back Souza. But Lord Sugar has questioned why more money wasn’t spent, considering the wealth of the Lewis family and the position the club find themselves in.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he wrote: “Really can't understand why Joe Lewis, the billionaire, is not throwing money into Tottenham. We hardly dealt in the January window.

“Maybe he has a buyer in mind for the club. @SpursOfficial.”

Reports claim that Levy is exploring a sale of his stake of the club to a consortium involving Hong Kong Businessman Ng Wing-fai.

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Football.london understands that the Lewis family currently has no plans to sell the club. While they have no control over Levy’s shares, they would still retain full authority over the club if his shares were ever sold.

The Lewis family have rejected three approaches for the club back in September. One from an Asian consortium involving Wing-Fai, a second frmo Amada Staveley’s PCP International Finance Ltd and a third from former DJ Brooklyn Earick.

A plan has been put into place to ‘deliver sustained on-pitch success’, with appointments confirmed over the latter months of last year. Fabio Paratici returned as new co-sporting director.

Cristian Romero apologised to his Tottenham team-mates following his sending off against Manchester United

Tottenham star Guglielmo Vicario has revealed Cristian Romero apologised to the squad following his sending off in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.

The Spurs star has also admitted the lengthy list of absentees is taking its toll, which was also the case last season. The United match turned when Spurs captain Romero was shown a red card for a strong challenge on United midfielder Casemiro.

It was Romero’s second sending-off in the space of seven weeks and occurred following his criticism of the club’s squad depth earlier this week.

“He’s disappointed because he knows that this red card could have been avoidable. He apologised,” Vicario said of Romero. “He’s our captain, he made a mistake, but we know the player he is. He’s going to come back for sure stronger and will help us massively.

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“For me the reality is that in terms of results, we struggled a lot and like you say, two wins in the last 16 Premier League games is not acceptable for this football club.

“We don’t have to forget how we are trying to push ourselves in tough conditions and this is the reality.

“Of course we have a brilliant Champions League campaign so far and playing every three days. I think I played already 36 games and I am happy for doing this, but for the outfield players it is tough.”

Meanwhile, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes heaped praise on “great manager” Michael Carrick after he masterminded a fourth-straight victory.

Fernandes scored late on at Old Trafford to round off a professional 2-0 Premier League triumph over 10-man Tottenham on Saturday to move United to within three points of third-placed Aston Villa.

It took Carrick’s overall record as United boss to six wins in seven matches – after a three-game spell in 2021 – and Fernandes revealed what he told his current boss four years ago.

United captain Fernandes said: “I think Michael came in with the right ideas of giving the players the responsibility, but also some freedom to take the responsibility on the pitch during the decisions that are needed.

“He’s very good with the words and I think he still remembers when I told him last time he was our manager, for our last game and I was sure Michael could be a great manager – now he is showing it.

“We hope we can help him even more so everyone can see, not just us as the players, that we are good players and that is why we are at Manchester United, but also the staff is very good.”

The arrival of Carrick has lifted the mood at Old Trafford after United were winless in four and with only one victory in seven matches in all competitions before the former midfielder was hired following Ruben Amorim’s exit at the start of January.

Fernandes hinted at Carrick’s knowledge and understanding of the club as being key to his transformative impact.

“I think everyone understands the pressure of playing for this club,” Fernandes added. “If you don’t understand, you start to understand very quickly. This is a massive club and everyone knows the expectations around it.

“I don’t think that changes but of course Michael has won everything here and he knows what it means to these fans and for the club to win. (I think) so much is needed to win in this football club and I think that is something special for this team.”

Cristian Romero was sent off during Tottenham's 2-0 defeat by Manchester United

Thomas Frank defended Cristian Romero as he stressed he “clearly tried to go for the ball” when he caught Casemiro on the ankle and received a 29th minute red card.

Romero was shown his marching orders in the first half of Spurs' 2-0 defeat by Manchester United but his manager has attempted to defend the under-fire captain.

“He was sorry for the incident,” the Spurs boss said. “He apologised to his team-mates in the changing room. I think he’s one of the most important players. When he performs at his top, he’s driving the team.”

This was Romero’s sixth red card in all competitions since making his Tottenham debut in August 2021 – more than any other Premier League player has received during that period.

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That statistic surprised Frank, who says he has no regrets about naming him captain and will not consider that position at the end of a week when he questioned Spurs’ “disgraceful” squad depth on social media.

Romero will start a four-match ban as Spurs host Newcastle on Tuesday, when Destiny Udogie could also be absent for injury-hit Spurs as they seek to win a first Premier League game of 2026.

“We haven’t won enough in the Premier League,” Frank said after overseeing a seventh successive top-flight match without a win. “We’re just coming on the back end of four good games, where we also showed a lot of resilience.

“Before that, we also did it, but we didn’t get enough of the results where we turned around second half, so I think there’s still a lot to hang the hat on in terms of resilience.

“But, of course, the performances need to be backed up by doing a little bit more and keep doing the right things because then the results will turn.”

Meanwhile, Michael Carrick is not being fooled into thinking Manchester United have “cracked it” after his dream start continued by beating a Tottenham side that captain Romero apologised to after his costly red card.

A year that began with Ruben Amorim’s abrupt exit and some underwhelming results has been transformed by the appointment of the Red Devils’ former midfielder, captain and coach for the remainder of the campaign.

Carrick followed up wins against Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham with a 2-0 triumph against his former club Spurs on Saturday lunchtime, when Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes wrapped up a deserved win against the 10-man visitors at Old Trafford.

It was the first time in two years that United have won four Premier League games in a row and left them fourth on 44 points – two points more than they managed last season.

“It’s difficult to comment in terms of what’s changed,” Ruben Amorim’s successor Carrick said. “I’m pleased with the buy-in, connection and everyone’s invested in it. I think that goes a long way.

“At certain times cans see the game flow in different ways and you can look very different, good or bad. But I think being in a real good emotional place helps you and, again, that proved to be the case.

“It was different today. We had to manage the game, control the game, and show patience and good quality, but there’s different ways to do it.

“The four games we’ve had have all slightly looked different, but we’re not getting carried away. I’m not sitting here thinking ‘everything’s great, we’ve cracked it’. There’s a lot of work to do so, and I’m fully aware of that.”