Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is set to be greeted by thousands of empty seats on his Champions League debut.
Frank will lead Spurs back into Europe’s most prestigious competition after two years away but the opening fixture of the campaign, at home against Villarreal has not grabbed the public imagination.
A crowd of around 54,000 is anticipated although tickets remained on sale at the time of writing.
This low uptake for the game at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium with its capacity of more than 62,000 has been blamed on a combination of tickets prices ranging from £27 to £96 and the limited appeal of the opposition and is expected to be a feature of the league phase of the Champions League in N17.
After Villarreal on Tuesday night, Spurs will also play host to Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen.
They will be expected to qualify for the knockout rounds but it is underwhelming in commercial terms with no blue-chip home fixture against one of Europe’s glamour clubs.
There are set to be thousands of empty seats at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Spurs welcome Villarreal in the Champions League this week
The numbers in the crowd will not deter Thomas Frank, who will be managing in the Champions League for the first time
It will not deter Frank, who will be managing in the Champions League for the first time.
‘Fantastic, so special,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘It’s a European night and our fans will be on it. I’m really looking forward to the first two minutes, and then Champions League anthem and then I will focus on the game. Business as usual.’
Spurs head into the campaign with renewed optimism off the pitch after the seismic change of Daniel Levy’s departure earlier this month.
Levy’s near-25-year reign ended just as Frank began to put his stamp on the squad, with new chairman Peter Charrington and the Lewis family promising a more visible, hands-on approach and new chief executive Vinai Venkatesham becoming the club’s public face.
On the field, there have been encouraging signs. Frank’s team bounced back from a first defeat of the season against Bournemouth by sweeping aside West Ham 3-0 at the London Stadium on Saturday to register their third win in four games under the Dane.
