TalkSPORT pundit makes his feelings clear over where Thomas Frank will be judged in his debut season at Tottenham.
Just six months into his job at Tottenham Hotspur, Thomas Frank has already experienced plenty of highs and lows.
Spurs tasted defeat in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain on penalty shootout, but they gave a great account of themselves. What followed was a good start to the Premier League season that saw Thomas Frank and Co. pick up 10 points from a possible 15. The north Londoners had also begun their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 success over Villarreal.
In the past few weeks, though, things have not gone as per the plan for Tottenham. The capital-based club have been leaky defensively, got overrun in midfield and struggled to score goals regularly. This has led to fans getting frustrated, especially at home, due to the team’s disastrous performances in the league.
The win over Brentford at home last weekend calmed down some nerves, but Thomas Frank is very much aware of the challenge he has in his hands at the club.
Simon Jordan feels Thomas Frank will be judged this season by Tottenham’s finish in the Premier League
At the start of the season, Thomas Frank said Tottenham wants to compete hard on all competitions. Having won the Europa League last season, the expectation from the fans and owners of Frank would naturally be to build on that success and bring much-needed stability to the club.
Juggling the Premier League and the Champions League with a limited squad has proven to be difficult for the Danish tactician. The injury problems has not done any favours to him, with key players such as James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all sidelined.
In a talkSPORT show, host Jim White asked Simon Jordan about Frank and where will he ultimately be judged this season in the Premier League or in Europe. To which, Simon Jordan replied:
“Premier League I suspect, because they need to be back in the Champions League next season will be prevalent, which means that they’re not going to.. I don’t see them winning the Champions League any time soon.
“So, in order to be back in it next year to keep the engines going economically they need to be successful in the Premier League. The fans will judge them by that I suspect they’re not going to win a European competition again this year so it is a about the Premier League really.”
Frank must not prioritise any competitions
Unlike last season where an injury crisis forced Ange Postecoglou to give up the Premier League at one point and put all eggs on the Europa League basket, Frank cannot do that in his first year at White Hart Lane. While tasting early elimination from the Carabao Cup was a setback, his team still has three tournaments to compete it and they must push for silverware again.
A trophy and clinching Champions League football for next season would be wonderful achievement for Frank in his maiden season in north London. After Spurs’ worst-ever Premier League campaign last term, the club bosses would certainly want the Dane to bring consistency in his team’s performance levels in the league.
Furthermore, they’d also love to see the trophy cabinet shine with another silverware, but to achieve that, the Hotspur Way chiefs will need to loosen their purse strings in January.