Thomas Frank has discussed the resources at his disposal at Tottenham Hotspur in comparison to other sides in the Premier League.
It was a frustrating outing at home once again for Spurs on Sunday as Sunderland managed to take a point from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Lilywhites produced a decent first-half and had the opportunities at the start of the second period to double their lead.
They failed to take those, and predictably, they were punished by an equaliser from Brian Brobbey on 80 minutes.
Thomas Frank rues Tottenham’s lack of like-for-like options on the bench
Spurs had a depleted squad against the Blackcats, with Xavi Simons being suspended, while long-term absentees, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke remained out.
With Pape Sarr also at the African Cup of Nations, it meant that Frank had to start Wilson Odobert in the number 10 role, and an early injury to Mohammed Kudus meant that he hardly had any attacking options to call upon from the bench.
When asked if Tottenham were hampered by the lack of like-for-like substitutions in the second-half, Frank responded (via Football.London): “I think it was that we lacked a little extra freshness. I looked at some teams last night. They just put three players on like-for-like, and then they run away with the win.
“A club we can’t speak about, but that’s probably also a little bit in it. So let me put it that way. That would have helped us. It’s not the same that we couldn’t have scored a 2-0 for the first 17 minutes.”
Spurs had the chances to win the game
The second-half performance was not up to scratch from the Lilywhites, but they had the chances to win the game on the counter-attack prior to Sunderland’s equaliser.
While Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani have some good qualities, neither of them is clinical in the final third, either in terms of their final pass, shooting or decision-making.
That is one area where Tottenham are desperate for a Heung-min Son-like figure. When a team is struggling to create a high volume of chances, it really helps to have clinical forwards who can maximise opportunities.