Every word of Thomas Frank’s pre-match press conference
Thomas Frank spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday, ahead of the first north London derby of the season at the Emirates on Sunday (4.30pm UK).
Here’s what he had to say...
What's the latest on Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Randal Kolo Muani? Also, how is Dominic Solanke?
Thomas: “Pape trained today, he's ready, available. Lucas trained today, ready, available. Kolo Muani, yes, trained today, available. Of course, he will have a mask that he will need to play with. Dom is not ready yet. I think he also had an article recently where he spoke about it. We are very, as I said, aware that when we put him out there, we want to be absolutely sure, as sure as we can be, that there is no setback going forward. I'm confident he will soon be ready, but I will not put a time frame on it.”
When you took this job, did you know about the importance of this rivalry and how excited are you?
Thomas: “Super excited. Of course, before I stepped into the club, of course, I knew about the north London derby, but it's when you are in it, you sense it and feel that this is important. You feel it from the fans, you feel it from the staff members, the players, the people that have been working here for years. This is the big one. I always say the next game is the most important game and we always have that, but I'm very, very, very aware there are two games in a year that are even more important - and this is the first of them. We are ready, we are up for it, we are looking forward to it and we will do everything we can to win.”
Mikel Arteta was appointed six years ago - do you envisage it taking six years to get the squad you want here, or could it be done in less?
Thomas: “I think it's a good example of a club that sticks to the process. I know it's Mikel in charge, me in charge, but there are so many more people working, but sticking to what we believe in over a longer period. I think six years... it’s very rarely you get that wrong in football. I also think it's fair to say that it took probably three seasons for Arteta, so the fourth season, that's where he competed now, is in the seventh season. So, he's really, really ready to compete in his fourth season. So, that's how you should see it. And then we know the difference between having ultimate success to win something or not is like ‘this’ - and you need margins, but the process is the most important thing.”
You have a book coming out soon - can you tell us about the day where you had meetings with Chelsea and Manchester United?
Thomas: “Yeah, I think you're, of course, very aware that when you decide to make a book, there will be things in it that can be interesting. That's definitely one of the things that day… it was a special day, but I think it was the context of what is it I wanted to do the next step or can't choose everything, stay long for Brentford, do something else and then there was this special day with meeting with two big clubs. That is history. I'm here now, another massive club. I'm very happy here and I'm looking forward to Sunday.”
Spurs are unbeaten away this season, yet have only won once (in the PL) at the Emirates - how do you balance the confidence of the recent form with the reality of that history?
Thomas: “I think I definitely look more into our, how can you say, away form. I’m very confident in the team going into the game on Sunday. Big respect against a good team. Currently we can't run away from that, even though we don't like it, but Arsenal are at the top of the table, quite a distance. They've been good for a few years, but we need to do everything we can to turn that around. It's one game on Sunday, one game where I'm convinced that we will compete and we’ll do everything we can to beat them.”
Arsenal have scored most goals from set-pieces this season - how does that challenge motivate you?
Thomas: “That's a big challenge. I think we hold the record of the fewest goals conceded from set-pieces. So, that's not a bad stat either. There's no doubt that one of the battles we need to win in this game, to win the game, is the set-piece battle. Can we win that battle? If we can, we're halfway there. They're strong, we're strong. That will be a battle in itself. Then there's a lot of other battles, the high pressure, the defending, the building up and all that, but the set-pieces will be a battle.”
What is the key to creating chances against a defence that’s been so hard to open up?
Thomas: “Yeah, they've been good. We trust that we can score goals there. I think it's also fair to say on the road we've been quite good to do that. I think the more we can make them a little bit disorganised, which will be a challenge, the better. That's what we'll try to do.”
Can I ask about three defenders – Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Kota Takai? Where are they all at in their fitness levels?
Thomas: “Yeah, Radu, very happy. He's probably been at it for a couple of weeks now, full training, full in, everything. With the team, played his first 45 minutes in nine months, something like that, last Wednesday, very happy with that. He trained fully today. Now he's definitely getting very close to being able to be selected, it's just a matter of performance and probably just a few more game minutes to be fully available. Kota and Ben both trained with the team today, first time so that's also positive.”
How far away is Archie Gray?
Thomas: “He trained with the team as well.”
So, you’re getting to the stage now where you're actually getting bodies back...
Thomas: “Yeah, exactly. Now I need to make difficult decisions!”
Brennan Johnson scored a lovely goal in the international break - how important is that for him?
Thomas: “I think every player is a confidence player. Some need it more than others, but everyone needs that confidence. We all know if we are a little bit more confident, it's easier to turn forward, to play forward, to run forward, to trust yourself, don't even think, it's just intuitive when you make your decision or your movement. Very happy for him. I think Brennan has had some very positive performances - Copenhagen - all the positive things in them, United, now comes on the back of a good game for Wales.”
You spoke about the United and Chelsea talks on the same day. How different was the Spurs conversation you had later on?
Thomas: “In a way, they are a little bit similar. You speak to people and present what you would like to bring to the club. So, there's a lot of similarities in that sense.”
The perception of the north London derby is probably one of the best in the league. There's chaos, drama, red cards - now you're going to be in the thick of it. What is your perception of the derby before you take it on?
Thomas: “The interesting thing is that probably both Mikel and I would like a little bit more of a controlled game, but it will probably end up absolutely madhouse - very, very enjoyable to watch for the outside people or fans. I expect a difficult game, of course, but a game that can go anywhere. Everything can happen in that game. In games like that, everything also evens out a little bit more because it's so competitive. The atmosphere in the stadium, it doesn't matter if we play away or at home, is intense. So, just really looking forward to it. I know we'll be ready and we're looking forward to it.”
Do you just think, 'I'm going to have to embrace the chaos' or will a 0-0 draw will be a good result? How will you go into it as a manager?
Thomas: “I’ll definitely embrace controlled chaos or chaos we like to create, if that makes sense, because I think chaos is also good. You can also be too disruptive, too fixed, stop-start. So, we need a bit of chaos. I think we all need that. Chaos is transitions. Chaos is high pressure, you win it. Chaos is set pieces, second phase. And all those elements are areas we would, of course, like to exploit if we can in that situation. And by the way, we never go for a 0-0. Maybe it will end 0-0, but we will always try to win. Always, always, always.”
What makes the two set piece coaches – Andreas Georgson and Nicholas Jover at Arsenal - stand out as probably the best set piece coaches in the league?
Thomas: “That's very simple - I educated both of them in Brentford! They were both in Brentford. I worked with Nicolas for maybe almost three years, I think, very good guy, good coach. Same with Andreas. I worked with him also in Brentford and now again here. I think maybe some of it is actually the bit we did in Brentford where we really laser-focused on it and really used a lot of time, made both of them to excel to a high level.”
Is Mo Kudus available?
Thomas: “He trained today as well. So that was good.”
You played three at the back a lot of times in your previous matches against Arsenal – what is about that formation against Arsenal in particular that you liked in those games?
Thomas: “I think back then, as I said, it was a little bit different. What I did in the first three years in the Premier League with Brentford was more or less as a go-to. We played a 3-5-2 against the top six teams. But I actually changed that last year to play more 4-2-3-1 like we do now. So, it's not just especially against Arsenal, it's against Liverpool, City and Tottenham.”
Have you sat down with Vinai Venkatesham – someone who knows Arsenal very well – and taken any nuggets from him?
Thomas: “No, not really. I have the biggest respect for Vinai. I think he's a top CEO in many ways. Of course, when you are CEO in a football club, you are also speaking about football stuff, but Vinai is a clever guy, so you also know when not to speak about football or when to speak about football. I think this is one of those moments.”
Do you already sense that there are certain players that probably aren't going to be here in the long run and you will need to move them on?
Thomas: “I think it's natural. If I'm here in six years' time, it will be a completely different squad. It's just natural. Some will be sold, some will develop, some will maybe not develop as much as you want to. So, I think that's a natural thing. It's not like I'm going to say and take my decision on him and him needing to leave now, but of course during the Spring we'll look into that, which is natural in terms of developing a squad.”
