Thomas Frank is under increasing pressure to get results for Tottenham Hotspur, but his time to turn things around is surely running out.
Tottenham Hotspur are not far behind Watford when it comes to getting rid of managers. Mauricio Pochettino was shown the door just months after reaching the Champions League final, and since then, a number of managers have been sacked.
This includes big-name bosses such as Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, and Spurs even went as far as sacking interim manager Cristian Stellini after a month in charge.
However, calls to sack Ange Postecoglou were ignored last season before his eventual departure, and Thomas Frank appears to have been afforded that same luxury.
Spurs must look at what their competition are doing
While Spurs are taking a more lenient approach with Frank, Chelsea recently sacked Enzo Maresca, despite the club sitting in the European spots. Since then, Manchester United have pulled the trigger on Ruben Amorim, even though they are sixth in the Premier League table.
Tottenham are in a considerably worse position than both these teams and are showing zero signs of improvement. Some might argue Frank deserves more time to show what it’s all about, but his lack of ambition and small club mentality has been made clear for all to see.
Spurs keep playing too defensively, and this has resulted in defeats against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. This same issue has seen the team fail to defeat both Brentford and Sunderland in the last few days, with Tottenham lacking bravery in the attacking areas.
Thomas Frank does not know how to manage Tottenham
No one can deny that Frank did a good job at Brentford, but Tottenham are a club expected to qualify for the Champions League and to compete for silverware. The Dane, however, has used last season’s freak 17th-place finish as a benchmark to claim his team are actually doing well, when this is simply not the case.
Every game, there is the same issue involving a lack of imagination and creativity, and all Frank seems to be able to talk about is how many duels his players won or lost. If Spurs are knocked out of the FA Cup, it is time to accept that his appointment was a mistake and move on.
It could be argued that the Tottenham first-team squad is in a poor state, and this is a valid point. However, if Spurs were to go out and sign some top-class forwards, there are other managers who would get them playing more effectively than Frank. In fact, he is probably holding back players already at the club, such as Xavi Simons.
The ex-Brentford boss is out of his depth in North London, and Tottenham should act while the season is still salvageable and send him packing. If only they had let season three play out under Ange Postecoglou, but now is the time to look forward and ensure the next managerial appointment knows what it means to lead a team like Spurs.
READ MORE – Supercomputer predicts Tottenham’s Premier League finish after draw to Sunderland