Thomas Frank lived to fight another day as Tottenham boss with victory against Borussia Dortmund and vowed to toast his escape with two large glasses of fine red wine.
He hailed the performance of his team, especially in the first half when goals by Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke put Spurs in control and a red card left Borussia Dortmund to play more than an hour with 10 men.
‘Very happy,’ said under fire Frank after the Champions League reprieve. ‘Two big glasses of red will be necessary.
‘It’s about the team but I feel the whole time, the staff is with us, the players are with us and the owners, we all want the same thing. We are on the same page and lot of things pulling in right direction.
‘It was a big performance, especially in the first half, and a big win, but I am very aware we need to keep this consistency and build on this. I see a team running very hard and that’s a healthy sign of a culture we’re building.
‘I really liked how we started the game. We were front foot, aggressive, going forward, positive so that was very good. Two good goals, lots of positives, and a clean sheet as well.
Under-fire manager Thomas Frank insists ‘things are pulling in right direction’ at Tottenham
Spurs got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night
‘I would have liked to have kept the ball a bit better in the second half but we haven’t won as much as we’ve wanted to, especially at home, so it was important to get that over the line.’
Frank is set to take the press conference ahead of the trip to Burnley on Saturday.
Frank also thanked fans, who have booed regularly this season and taunted him after the defeat against West Ham on Saturday by chanting about him getting sacked in the morning.
‘In the first half, you felt it could be a special European night,’ said Frank. ‘The fans were absolutely great. Really behind the team. It was a fantastic thing to hear that atmosphere and energy and how that transmitted to the players.’
Dominic Solanke, who scored his first Champions League goal on his first start of the season, hailed the new unity on display.
‘When we’re all together – players, staff, fans – that’s key,’ Solanke told TNT Sports. ‘We’re all one club. We all want the same thing. We need to put the performances in like we did tonight and carry on the momentum.
‘We know we haven’t been good enough in Premier League so hopefully this gives us the extra boost. We can improve in the league and continue in the Champions League.’
Spurs are fourth in the Champions League and will qualify for the last 16 if they win at Eintracht Frankfurt next week but first they go to Burnley in the Premier League.
Frank added: ‘We need to bring this win, this performance, momentum into Burnley and we need to win.’
