- 10 months ago
Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank says its no quick fix and he needs time at Tottenham
19/12/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London,UK
19/12/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London,UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00How is everyone doing?
00:02Everyone is doing fine.
00:09Last game, I think it's the same players available.
00:14No one new is available for Scott.
00:17And let's reflect a bit on the Forest result.
00:20Obviously a tough result for you last weekend,
00:22but what do you feel you've learnt about your team from that game?
00:25I think it was a bad performance.
00:30Not two ways about it.
00:32I think there was a couple of things in it.
00:35It seems like we lacked energy to produce again.
00:41That was one element,
00:43and I think it was not a particularly good football game for any of the teams until our mistake.
00:51So when you lack energy and you maybe don't play the best game,
00:55and then unfortunately you made a mistake, that happens in football.
00:57And then you struggle to come back from that in terms of handle that setback,
01:04and then you come out second half and do not mistake and back 2-0.
01:07So that's also part of the narrative around the game.
01:10So the big thing here, there's always something to learn.
01:13You learn more about the players, more about the team,
01:15and we need to have that bounce back mentality and come flying out tomorrow against Liverpool.
01:20And in terms of your position at the club, are you feeling supported by the board?
01:24Have you had conversations this week?
01:26I feel supported. I've done that the whole time.
01:30And as I said also after the game that hadn't changed my mind.
01:34This is not a quick fix.
01:36This will take time.
01:38That's not the same that we're not going to do everything we can to beat Liverpool,
01:42and believe we have a good chance of doing that.
01:45But yeah, this is something where we are building.
01:52And I've said it many times.
01:56We, of course, are first and foremost the most critical of myself.
02:02So that's one thing.
02:03But I think it's fair to say that we are a lot of people in it that need to perform well together.
02:09With me in charge, of course, and taking the right decisions.
02:13And finally from me, you talk about building over the long term.
02:16What do you identify as the main missing elements in this team at the moment?
02:20I don't know if there's one main thing, but there's no doubt that we can't run away.
02:29That we need to create a bit more.
02:33And that's both principles and good training.
02:40And it's been nice to have a fine age where we have a good training week where we could actually focus a lot on that.
02:45So that definitely helps.
02:48But also, how can you say?
02:54I've said a few times, I think, we have a few good players out with a lot of goals and assists in them.
03:04And we have a very good, talented group of players that haven't produced the same numbers yet.
03:12So that's part of it as well.
03:14Thank you, Thomas. Best of luck tomorrow.
03:16Hi, Thomas.
03:17You mentioned this rare full week in between games.
03:20Has this week really given you a chance to really work on the tactics to get that across to the players?
03:24And you mentioned sort of lacking energy in the last game.
03:27So have you seen your players recover a little bit more physically this week?
03:31Yeah, definitely a full week.
03:33Definitely a full week.
03:34It definitely helps a lot.
03:37So I'd be very surprised we don't have the energy.
03:40I think it's quite normal.
03:43No one want to speak about it.
03:45But when you play in Europe and in the Premier League at the same time, it's just massively physical and mental load.
03:52No excuses.
03:53That's what we want.
03:54That's what we want to do.
03:55But be able to produce every third game.
04:01That's also a development individual players mentality and physicality.
04:06And there's not many in this, how can you say, squatters been used to do it every third day.
04:14I know we played Europe last year.
04:16I think it's fair to say that to manage both Premier League and Europa League didn't go particularly top.
04:24And now we just added the extra layer in terms of Champions League level.
04:28So that's part of it that sometimes you can lack a little bit of energy.
04:32And then when you lack that little bit of energy and you maybe make a mistake in a game,
04:37then it maybe drops a little bit more, make another mistake, then it's just very difficult to come back.
04:42Other times you play an average game and you maybe put it to the top corner.
04:47You gain more energy and then you don't think about you actually have a lower energy going into the game.
04:52So that's part of it.
04:54Obviously Archie was in the spotlight after the game against Forest.
04:58How has he been this week?
04:59It's been good.
05:00Also when I watched the game back, I think actually he was the one that wanted the ball instant after the mistake.
05:07So I like that mentality, want to get on the ball.
05:12It's part of it.
05:14Everyone played football at this level or any level, you know, made a mistake,
05:21made a mistake in life, you need to go back on it and go again.
05:25And the beautiful thing of football, especially at this level and Tottenham, if you make a mistake,
05:30you could be pretty sure there'll be a few questions about it.
05:33But you of course need to be able to manage it and he will do that.
05:37In terms of Liverpool tomorrow, they won't have Cody Gakpa, they won't have Joe Gomez.
05:41There's a question mark about Dominic, Shoboslay and of course they won't have Mohamed Salah available.
05:46What can you expect from them tomorrow and what have you made of their up and down season
05:50and the way the honour slot has really handled this season so far?
05:53I think Liverpool is an excellent team, they are the champions, well-deserved champions last year.
06:01They started very well.
06:04I think they got fantastic players.
06:06I think in Hugay Kitike, I think he's had a, what a season he's having.
06:12Isaac, we know, he's a top striker as well, he will come.
06:17Wiertz is a fantastic player with a big potential, adapting to the Premier League.
06:25I think last year they had one of the best midfields in the league, maybe most complete in Gravenberg,
06:32McAllister and Shoboslay.
06:35And Shoboslay is a beast, so he will play tomorrow of course.
06:38So it's a very good team that we are facing.
06:42But also, no, we hit a high level.
06:45We can be very, we can compete very well.
06:48And I believe we can do something good and we'll go for the three points.
06:54Hi Thomas, how are you?
06:55Yeah, very good, you?
06:56Surviving.
06:57You said that this isn't a quick fix.
07:00And your predecessor pretty much said the same thing.
07:03And he even said winning a trophy wouldn't lead to it being a quick fix.
07:06How long is this club going to take to fix?
07:09And with managerial reigns not lasting massively long in the Premier League,
07:14how confident are you that you can start and finish this fix?
07:17I'm very comfortable, very comfortable and confident that I will, how can you say, fix it.
07:28But just to make sure it's not me.
07:30When this club is coming out on top, there will be a lot of good people working together, aligned at the same time through years.
07:40I just know one, one thing I'm pretty good at, I'm good at analyzing things.
07:47And also good to, I know what good looks like and I know where we should get.
07:53And one thing is 1000% sure, we haven't seen any club be successful unless they had key people in the right decisions for a long time.
08:06And I'll back myself to be one of those key people to be in that position.
08:10So for whatever reason that I don't, I was not here when you said whatever number of head coaches was sacked.
08:18I don't know the reason why that.
08:21I just know that if you want a success, you need to have right people aligned and go forward together.
08:28And there will be good times and there will be bad times.
08:31That's part of it.
08:32I guess for that you've got to take the fans with you.
08:34That's what you did brilliantly at Brentford.
08:36You sold the fans a dream and you took them on that journey.
08:41The Spurs fans, some may be questioning you even at an early stage in your reign.
08:46What's your message to them?
08:47No, I think there will always be, no matter where you are, definitely 10% of the fans always will question the head coach no matter where they are.
08:55And then there will be a big group that, I can say, the loyal one or the one that can see a little bit bigger perspective.
09:06But I would say to the Spurs fans, I would say that first and foremost, it's a privilege to be part of this fantastic club.
09:15And I think it's a fantastic club with a fantastic potential that we haven't fulfilled yet.
09:21So it's a club with a top potential that we need to fulfill.
09:24And to fulfill that, there's a lot of stages we need to go through.
09:28And one thing for sure, I'm working 24-7.
09:32I've never been thinking so much about football in my entire life and I think a lot about football to make sure we get everything right.
09:40I finally wanted to mention R&R, not rest and recuperation, but reward and risk in terms of goalkeepers playing out from the back, which you and I have spoken about before.
09:51In terms of that, how much reward do you really get from goalkeepers playing out from the back?
09:55Because we've seen twice now in the last couple of months with Vicario, mistakes he's made leading to goals playing out from the back.
10:03Yeah, I think it's two completely different situations.
10:08I think one is a missed clearance, so that happens.
10:12And the other one is a situation, but I think it's, you know, for me that's more on Archie.
10:19I spoke to him, he knows next time it's one touch bounce and there's no situation there.
10:24And it's a situation that we have seen a thousand times in this league and across Europe.
10:30And we see a thousand times after this game where you play that bounce and you get out.
10:35So it's like the same thing where big, I can say, philosophy is that you can't play long and direct all the time.
10:41Or can't play short and, yeah, or can't play short all the time.
10:47You need to find a good balance.
10:49So it's all about that.
10:51Thank you. Likewise.
10:53Thomas, sorry, just going back to the quick fixes and how long it's going to take.
10:57Are the players just underachieving?
11:00You know, I know they won the Europa League last year, but it seems that when they lose, they lose badly.
11:06And just what's your take on the defeats that you have?
11:09Because when you're good, you're good, but when you're not, you're not.
11:12Yeah, no, I think that's probably a fair comment.
11:17And I think the best teams, they create a stamina where they are very resilient to setbacks.
11:31And that's something we're working very hard on.
11:34But it's not a quick fix.
11:37That's small, good habits in training, in games.
11:40And sometimes you see things, you can say, someone may be thinking it's a crazy example, but you know, the Fulham game was not the best start.
11:50Clearly struggles the next 30 minutes, and I think we found a way back in the second half, you know, bit by bit.
11:56So there was a bit where they stay in the game, stick to the game plan, stick to the structure, doing the right thing.
12:01Okay, we didn't get the fantastic compact, that would be fantastic, beautiful, but that was a good step, as an example.
12:11But there's no doubt that that demands, we're working with the characters, working with the leaders, working with the culture.
12:20And everyone that has done that before knows that it's not a quick process.
12:27It sounds like there's only so much you can do on the training pitch, it's psychological as well, that you're really having to make big progress with the squad?
12:35Yeah, you can say that psychologically, mentality, character-wise, yeah, bit by bit.
12:44And just a word on, sorry, your favorite player in press conference is Dominic Solanke.
12:48Any chance he'll be back for Saturday?
12:51I'll probably say the same, that I will look forward to name it when he's in the squad, but it's progressing forward, that's what I want to say.
13:02We'll finish with George, please.
13:03Hi, Thomas.
13:05Mickey van der Ven did a very revealing interview this week, and lots of fire-catching comments from him, and he still believes in Angie's system.
13:13That he what, sorry?
13:14Sorry?
13:15That he still believes in Angie's system.
13:16Yeah.
13:17What did you make of it, and have you seen it?
13:19I haven't seen it, so.
13:21You told me there was an interview, but I haven't seen it.
13:24Yeah, I mean, it just come across how much he believed in Angie's system.
13:29And I'm sort of wondering, has buy-in from the players been difficult, because it's such a contrast, Angie's style, compared to your own style?
13:37No, I think it's been a good buy-in. I think we, you can say that from the beginning of the season, I think we started quite well, without being sensational, and I thought we were very good in some games, and good in other games.
13:55And then, like in every season, you have some, how can we say, setbacks, and some spells that's maybe not going the right way, but I don't see any chance there, that they are not, how can we say, with me, or we are going the same direction.
14:14And I think Miki, I think it's fair to say, scored more goals than he was scored also on a header. I think he played more consistent minutes, been more fit than he's ever been, so it looks like he's buying into it.
14:27And just with this week, you obviously had a clear week, which has been a real rarity. How much have you spent this week kind of working on what Tottenham can do against Liverpool versus what Liverpool can do to Tottenham?
14:39Sorry, ask the question again.
14:42How much has this been about what Tottenham can do to hurt Liverpool, rather than kind of trying to prepare for what Liverpool will do to Tottenham?
14:50I think it's very important that we do both, work very hard on what is our strengths and principles, and if you're not respectful for a team that won the Premier League,
15:08and what kind of threat they pose, then I think you don't do well.
15:12As far as I know, the last four times we played them, we had a good 1-0 win, and then, and only three other scores, you can check them.
15:20We conceded a few goals in those games, so probably a good idea also to defend a bit.
15:26I think that's fair, but we worked very hard on our breakthrough phase, worked very hard on our positions there and how we do that this week, and then, of course, also worked on the defensive side of the game.
15:40OK, we'll end the broadcast section there, move on to the embargoed section for 10.30pm.
15:44Bye.
15:45We'll be right back, bye.
15:46Thanks we'll be right back, bye, bye.
15:48Bye.
15:49Bye.
15:53Bye.