Thomas Frank has made an interesting admission about how far Tottenham Hotspur are from becoming the kind of side he wants them to become.
Tottenham’s style of play has attracted the ire of their fans for much of the season, and their performance at Brentford was certainly a long time coming.
Not only was that the Lilywhites’ first Premier League win at home since the opening day of the season, but they played with attacking intent, and it appeared that Frank had finally taken the handbrakes off.
Some Spurs fans will be cautiously optimistic that the display against the Bees was a sign of things to come, but the Tottenham boss is under no illusions about the work that still needs to be done.
Thomas Frank wants Tottenham to add to their solid foundations
Frank revealed that he is happy with the foundations that have been laid in the first six months of his tenure, but confessed that there is a lot more work to be done.
He suggested that part of Tottenham’s struggles are down to the players who are missing, but insisted that there are clear signs of improvement.
When asked if he is happy with Spurs are at the moment, Frank told TNT Sports: “I think I will say it like this: there is space for improvements. But I think we’ve found an okay, solid foundation, but I would like to add so much more.
“But I actually think it is completely natural with a squad and a team that finished 17th last year, and of course won the Europa League, fantastic. Now we want to finish much higher, plus we want to compete in the Champions League, which is at a higher level.
“So to be able to balance everything, we still may not have all the players available that we’d like to. So that’s a balancing act. But that’s no complaint; that’s just the way it is. I like the signs of improvement, but I know we need to be so much better.”
Frank is getting closer to finding his best Spurs eleven
Interestingly, Frank was vehemently defending the Rodrigo Bentancur-Joao Palhinha double pivot earlier this season, but he has quietly moved away from that over recent weeks.
That is partly down to the fact that Archie Gray is now back fit, but it is also because he understands the strengths and weaknesses of his squad better.
Frank admitted last week that he is still trying to figure out his strongest Tottenham eleven, and it appears he is getting closer to it with each passing week.