Thomas Frank has made an honest admission about Tottenham’s lack of attacking threat in the London derby against Chelsea.
Tottenham’s wretched form at home this season continued on Saturday, with the Lilywhites falling to their third home loss of the campaign.
Given the magnitude of the game, it can be argued that it was Spurs’ worst showing of the season, although there are already several contenders for that title.
What left the Tottenham faithful particularly frustrated was the side’s inability to break down Chelsea and fashion chances, with the home side hardly laying a glove on their London rivals.
Thomas Frank admits Tottenham were well short of the required level
Spurs fans would have expected their side to exert some sort of pressure in the second period in an effort to get back into the game, but we saw none of that, with Enzo Meresca’s side enjoying a comfortable afternoon.
Frank admitted that Tottenham’s performance was well short of the required level and that it hurts to see the side fail to threaten the opposition goal.
It was put to the Dane that Spurs had an xG of 0.05 against Chelsea, and he responded (via the club’s official website): “I would say that, of course, hurts massively. I’ve never been in charge of a team that created that little in one game, never.
“So that, of course, I will look into what we can do to make it better. But I think that’s one thing. I think everything is a little bit linked. And today, yeah, we didn’t hit the level.”
When asked how a Tottenham team that is behind against Chelsea can fail to register a single shot in the second half, Frank responded: “Good question. There’s probably not one answer to that. One thing is for sure: we need to do that better.”
Frank says Spurs’ new-look attack needs time to click
Many Tottenham supporters are already at the end of their patience with the team’s lack of attacking threat, and some are losing hope that the situation can be turned around.
However, Frank reiterated that Spurs have a new-look front-four this season and confidently asserted that his side will click as an attacking force.
When asked what he could say to the supporters to give them confidence that the team can be more creative, the Tottenham boss said: “A couple of things. Today, of course, everyone will be frustrated. I’d say we have 24 hours, and then we need to look forward again. Today was one snapshot that didn’t look good. I think there have definitely been other spells that have been better.
“There’s no doubt, and I keep saying it, that we have a front four that is new that we need to build together with short turnarounds in games. We’ll do that. I’m not in doubt that will happen. I think every team I’ve coached has scored a lot of goals. It will happen again in the future here.”