Thomas Frank spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon, ahead of our Premier League clash against Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (5.30pm UK).
Here’s what he had to say…
What the latest team news?
Thomas: “Everyone is doing fine. Last game, I think it's the same players available. No-one new is available for the squad.”
What do you feel you’ve learnt about the team from Forest?
Thomas: “I think it was a bad performance, no two ways about it. I think there was a couple of things in it. It seems like we lacked energy to produce again. That was one element, and I think it was not a particularly good football game for any of the teams until our mistake. So, when you lack energy and maybe don't play the best game and you thought you made a mistake, that happens in football. We struggled to come back from that in terms of handling that setback, and then we came out second half, another mistake and 2-0. That's also part of the narrative around the game. The big thing here is there’s always something to learn. You learn more about the players, more about the team, and we need to have that bounce back mentality to come flying out tomorrow against Liverpool. “
Are you feeling supported? Have you had conversations this week?
Thomas: “I feel supported. I've done that the whole time. As I said also after the game, it hasn't changed my mind. This is not a quick fix. This will take time. That's not to say we're not going to do everything we can to beat Liverpool. I believe we have a good chance of doing that. But, yeah, this is something we are building. I've said it many times, we of course... first and foremost, I'm the most critical of myself, so that's one thing, but I think it's fair to say that we are a lot of people in it that need to perform well together, with me in charge, of course, and take the right decisions.”
What do you identify as the main missing elements in this team at the moment?
Thomas: “I don't know if there's one main thing, but there's no doubt, we can't run away, that we need to create a bit more, and that's both principles and good training, and it's been nice to finally have a good training week where we could actually focus a lot on that. So, that definitely helps. I've said it a few times, I think we have a few good players out with a lot of goals and assists in them, and we have a very good, talented group of players that haven't produced the same numbers yet, so that's part of it as well.”
Has this week really given you a chance to really work on your tactics and get that across to the players?
Thomas: “A full week definitely helps a lot. You'd be very surprised we don't have the energy. I think it's quite normal. No-one wants to speak about it, but when you play in Europa and in the Premier League at the same time, it's just a massively physical and mental load. No excuses, that's what we want to do, but being able to produce every third game, that's also a development in individual players' mentality and physicality, and there's not many in this squad that's been used to doing it every third day. I know we played Europe last year. I think it's fair to say that to manage both the Premier League and Europa League didn't go particularly top, and now we've just added that extra layer in terms of our Champions League level. So, that's part of it, that sometimes you can lack a little bit of energy. Then, when you lack that little bit of energy and you make a mistake in a game, then it maybe it drops a little more, and you make another mistake. That makes it very difficult to come back. Other times, you play an average game and you maybe put on in the top corner, then you gain energy. That’s all part of it.”
How has Archie Gray been this week?
Thomas: “He’s been good. Also, when I watched the game back, he wanted the ball, instantly after the mistake, I like that mentality, wanting to get on the ball. It’s part of it. Everyone who has played football at any level had made a mistake. If you make a mistake in life, you get back on it and go again. The beautiful thing of football is, especially at this level in Tottenham, if you make a mistake, you can be pretty sure there'll be a few questions about it. You need to be able to manage it, and he will do that.”
Liverpool won’t have Gakpo, won’t have Gomez, there’s a question mark about Szoboszlai, they won’t have Salah available – what can you expect from them tomorrow?
Thomas: “I think Liverpool is an excellent team. They were well-deserved champions last year. They started very well. I think they've got fantastic players. Hugo Ekitike, what a season he's had. Isak, we know, is a top striker as well. Wirtz is a fantastic player with a big potential, adapting to the Premier League. I think last year they had one of the best midfield three in the league, maybe most complete, in Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, he’s a beast, he will play tomorrow, of course. So, it's a very good team that we're facing, but also know if we hit a high level, we can compete very well, and I believe we can do something good, and we'll go for the three points.”
You said that this isn't a quick fix - how long is this club going to take to fix. How confident are you that you can start and finish this fix?
Thomas: “I'm very comfortable and confident that I will, how can I say, fix it, but just to make sure it's not me - when this club is coming out on top, there will be a lot of good people working together, aligned, at the same time, through years. I just know one thing I'm pretty good at, I'm good at analysing things, and I know what good looks like, and I know where we should get, and one thing is 1,000% sure, we haven't seen any club be successful unless they had key people in the right decisions for a long time, and I'll back myself to be one of those key people, to be in that position. So, for whatever reason that I was not here, when you said whatever, the number of head coaches was sacked, I don't know the reason why that, I just know that if you want to have success, you need to have the right people aligned, and go forward together, and there will be good times and there will be bad times, that's part of it.”
Some fans may be questioning you even at an early stage in your reign, what's your message to them?
Thomas: “No, I think there will always be, no matter where you are, definitely 10% of the fans will always question the head coach, no matter where they are, and there will be a big group that are the loyal ones, or the ones that can see a little bit bigger perspective, but I would say to the Spurs fans, I would say that first and foremost, it's a privilege to be part of this fantastic club, and I think it's a fantastic club with a fantastic potential, that we haven't fulfilled yet, so it's a club with a top potential that we need to fulfil, and to fulfil that, there's a lot of stages we need to go through, and one thing for sure, I'm working 24-7, I've never been thinking so much about football in my entire life, and I think a lot about football, to make sure we get everything right.”
How much reward do you really get from goalkeepers playing out from the back? We've seen twice now in the last couple of months, with Vicario, mistakes he's made, leading to goals, playing out from the back...
Thomas: “It's two completely different situations - one is a mis-clearance, so that happens, and the other one is a situation where I think it's... for me, that's more on Archie, I spoke to him, he knows next time it's one-touch bounce, and then there's no situation there, and it's a situation that we've seen a thousand times in this league and across Europe, and we've seen it a thousand times after this game, where you play that bounce and you get out. It's like the same thing with big philosophy, that you can't play long and direct all the time, or can't play short, or play short all the time, you need to find a good balance. So, it's all about that.”
Are the players just underachieving? I know they won the Europa League last year, but it seems that when they lose, they lose badly - when you're good, you're good, but when you're not, you're not...
Thomas: “I think that's probably a fair comment, and I think the best teams, they create stamina, where they are very resilient to setbacks, and that's something we're working very hard on, but it's not a quick fix, that's small good habits in training, in games, and sometimes you see things, you can say, some will maybe think it's a crazy example, but the Fulham game was not the best start, clearly struggled for the next 30 minutes, and I think we found a way back in the second half, bit by bit, so there was a bit where they stayed in the game, stick to the game plan, stick to the structure, doing the right thing. Okay, we didn't get the fantastic compact, that would be fantastic, beautiful, but that was a good step, as an example. We’re working with the characters, we're working with the leaders, we're working with the culture, and everyone that has done that before, knows that it's not a quick process."
It sounds like there's only so much you can do on the training pitch, it's psychological as well, that you're really having to make big progress for the squad?
Thomas: “Yeah, you could say that, psychologically, mentality, character-wise, yeah, bit by bit.”
What’s the latest on Dominic Solanke?
Thomas: “I'm looking forward to name him when he's in the squad, he’s progressing forward, that's what I want to say.”
Micky van de Ven said in an interview that he still believes in Ange’s system – has buy-in been difficult, because it's such a contrast, Ange's style, compared to your own?
Thomas: “No, I think it's been a good buy-in. You can say that from the beginning of the season, I think we started quite well, without being sensational, and I thought we were very good in some games, and good in other games. Then, like in every season, you have some, how can I say, setbacks and some spells, that's maybe not going the right way, but I don't see any signs that they are not, how can I say, with me, or we are going in the same direction. I think Micky, I think it's fair to say, has scored more goals, scored a header, played more consistent minutes, been more fit than he's ever been, so it looks like he's buying into it."
How much has this week been about what Tottenham can do to hurt Liverpool, rather than kind of trying to prepare for what Liverpool will do to Tottenham?
Thomas: “I think it's very important that we do both - work very hard on what is our strengths and principles, and if you are not respectful for a team that won the Premier League, and what kind of threat they pose, then I think you don't do well. As far as I know, the last four times we played them, we had a good 1-0 win, and only three other scores, you can check them, we conceded a few goals in three of those games, so probably a good idea also to defend a bit. I think that's fair. We worked very hard on our breakthrough phase, worked very hard on our positions there, and how we do that this week, and then of course also worked on the defensive side of the game.”
