Under-fire Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank claims support of hierarchy

LONDON – Thomas Frank is adamant that key figures at Tottenham Hotspur are “completely aligned” about his future at the troubled Premier League club.

The Dane is fighting to save his job after a disappointing first few months in charge of the north Londoners. Tottenham were languishing in 13th place ahead of their Jan 7 trip to Bournemouth, which took place after press time, with pressure mounting on former Brentford boss Frank.

The shock departure of Enzo Maresca from Chelsea and Ruben Amorim’s sacking at Manchester United over the last few days served to underline the tenuous grip managers have on their jobs when results waver.

Before the match against the Cherries, Tottenham were unbeaten in their last three matches, but they won only two of their last 11 in the Premier League and had not scored from open play since Dec 6.

Frank’s prosaic tactics have irritated Spurs fans and some are already calling for his dismissal.

However, the 52-year-old insists he has the support of chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici.

“I think the biggest thing, which we are, is that we are completely aligned, so the biggest thing is that let’s say Johan, Fabio, Vinai and I are aligned. That’s the biggest thing and then we also aligned with the ownership,” Frank told reporters on Jan 6.

“Vinai is one of the best communicators I ever met, as a CEO, leader or whatever, he is absolutely excellent in that. I think I’m OK, but he is way superior, which I think is crucial internally and externally.

“He’s calm and he takes sensible decisions – two rare abilities in football, but also two absolutely crucial abilities if you want to have success long term. For me, Vinai is crucial for Tottenham to have success in many ways.

“Then, of course, we have known each other for six months, so we are getting closer and closer and know each other better and better.”

Former Arsenal executive Venkatesham had backed Mikel Arteta during a rocky first 12 months at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are reaping the rewards as they sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League and Frank hopes for the same treatment at Tottenham.

“Yeah, definitely, no doubt about that, plus he also knows what ‘good’ looks like and also knows how, unfortunately, it can take time to get up to where ‘good’ should look like,” he said.

“That’s definitely beneficial because also he understands the journey we’re on.” AFP