Thomas Frank has opened up on where Tottenham stand in the transfer market ahead of a crucial Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Tottenham Hotspur have given a good account of themselves in the Champions League this season, in what is the north London club’s debut appearance in the new format.
Frank’s side has suffered just one defeat in Europe and is now in pole position to finish in the top eight, with a victory against Eintracht Frankfurt set to seal their fate on Wednesday.
The Spurs boss, however, will have to do so without several of his first-team players, with 13 set to miss tomorrow’s encounter for different reasons.
Injuries are one of the main causes of Frank’s side being stretched, with eight players injured and four others unregistered.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank reflects on Champions League run
Thomas Frank has now opened up on his side’s Champions League run so far, expressing his delight at how his players have embraced the challenge. The Dane also remained positive, believing his side can go on and finish the league phase strongly.
Speaking to football.london, Frank addressed his team’s European campaign so far, saying: “First foremost, tomorrow, for me, we have a great opportunity to secure a position in the top eight. Which would be a very good result, a very good achievement.
“Be very positive. We’re looking forward to that. That’s what we are focusing everything we can on. The other thing is that I think the performances for a while have been good in many ways. We just haven’t got on the right side enough to get the three points. We working very hard on that. Sometimes you are on that spell, the players are giving you everything, but for me tomorrow, it’s all about the opportunity.”
He added: “It’s not about me. It’s about us. I’m very happy that the team and club are in a position where with a win tomorrow we can finish top eight in the best club tournament in the world.
“It’s super, super competitive, as we know. So that, we are very pleased with. Those results and some of those performances are also what we need to take going forward, of course, and build on that.
“Again, it’s my job to look a little bit in the bigger perspective. Even though we haven’t won as much as we want, it’s very, very few things that need to go our way, the small margins, keep doing the right thing, keep improving things we want to do, getting quality players back.”
Are Spurs in the market for new signings?
Spurs need a win if they are to avoid the extra play-off games which, given their injury crisis, is very important. The last thing Tottenham need is an extra 180 minutes in the legs.
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When asked if new players could still come through the door at Tottenham in the coming days, Frank said: “We are in the market. We do everything we can to see if we can improve the squad. We said that the whole time.
“I think it’s, of course, when things are not exactly what we wanted and we have some injuries, you can be pushed and forced to take decisions you don’t really want to take if everything was on top.
“So we need to be very, very smart and cool and calm and take good decisions to help us to optimise short-term success, but also secure long-term success.”
Frank remains under pressure due to Tottenham’s poor displays overall, and with fans not entirely convinced, boos ringing out frequently, he desperately needs to secure a win here.
With the next five matches coming up for Tottenham, a victory is not only crucial, but it is important that it is a performance they can build on, otherwise, Frank may well head out the door.