Thomas Frank has compared his job at Tottenham Hotspur to turning a “super-tanker … in the right direction” after Saturday’s home defeat by West Ham United.
Frank was booed by sections of the home crowd after the 2-1 loss, and faced chants of “sacked in the morning”, louder than ever before at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But Frank insisted in his post-match press conference Spurs were making progress.
“It’s a super-tanker we are turning in the right direction,” Frank said, “and there are a lot of good signs behind the scenes, and also in some of the performances. But of course when you lose last-minute to one of your rivals, it is very emotional in football and there will be noise. That noise we need to keep out there, and get our heads down and keep walking. Keep doing the right things.”
Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham wrote a lengthy letter to fans published in Saturday’s matchday programme, explaining the work that has gone on towards making Spurs competitive again. Frank said in his press conference that he “took six to eight positive things out of the letter” rather than anything negative. “What I take out of that letter is that the club and the executive team with Vinai on top are aligned, and know this is a big transitional phase,” the Dane added.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, though, called the West Ham defeat a “disaster moment” for his team when speaking to club media. “For me, only one message for the fans: thank you for always staying with us,” the defender said. “It is difficult and also a disaster moment for us, but especially in this moment, we need silence.
“Back tomorrow in training work, work hard every day and stay together. In three days we have another big match and this moment it is really silence and work hard.”
This was Spurs’ sixth home league defeat of the season, losing to Callum Wilson’s 93rd-minute winner, and Frank said that everyone has to keep going to get out of their poor run. “It’s unbelievably tough to take for the fans, for the players, for me, everyone involved,” he said. “Football is emotion, I understand why it’s tough. I can promise everyone it’s extremely tough for me as well. So I think everyone involved in football knows this is just tough. But there’s only one way: to keep going. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. There’s only one way: going forward.”
West Ham United’s win at Tottenham Hotspur means Nuno Espirito Santo has won more Premier League games at Spurs as an opposition manager (four) than he won at home while in charge of the north London side. pic.twitter.com/BTldf7U9Gn
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) January 17, 2026
Frank insisted that despite everything Spurs are still “close to something very good” based on recent performances.
“Let’s say the Bournemouth (3-2 defeat) and the Villa (2-1 defeat) and this game here, if the players stop running, or stop doing anything, or not working hard, and we are not the team that’s closest to winning, then you can say OK,” Frank said. “But I think the team is working very hard. And I still think — and I know it sounds a little bit crazy — that we are close(r) to something very good, than further away.”
Spurs return to action on Tuesday when they host Borussia Dortmund in the league phase of the Champions League.
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