Every night, Thomas Frank reads for half an hour before bed. Thankfully, he says, sleep is his friend.
What are you reading? I ask. All of the coverage around Tottenham?
‘No,’ he says, and his smile tells you he knows that would be unwise. Sleep would not come so easy if absorbing the negativity that surrounds him and his club right now. Rather, reveals Frank, it is Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets that is his bed-time read. He has followed the series since The Da Vinci Code.
‘This is good to calm my head down,’ he says. ‘There are a lot of thoughts in there in terms of trying to constantly improve and turning the corner.’
So far, corners turned have led to blind alleys for Frank as Tottenham head coach. He is the bookmakers’ second favourite in the ‘sack race’. The only manager with shorter odds is West Ham’s Nuno Espirito Santo, who he hosts in Saturday’s Desperation Derby. Or, as Tim Sherwood called it this week, ‘El Sackio’.
But Frank will not be sacked and nor will he walk away, even if they lose to West Ham. The message from inside the club could not be stronger in that regard. That much was evident at the club’s training ground this week, where the media room briefly resembled an interrogation suite.
Thomas Frank will not be sacked by Tottenham regardless of their result against local rivals West Ham on Saturday
Frank has been boosted by the arrival of Johnny Heitinga as an assistant coach
‘Bit brighter than normal in here, isn’t it?’ remarked one regular.
Frank, though, used his 40 minutes beneath the flashbulbs to radiate a bullishness not seen in recent weeks. That, you suspect, was powered by support from within. Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham is an ally who will not turn the guns on the manager.
Pressure? ‘That’s fine,’ said Frank. ‘I’m happy to take that. I know it’s a big London derby, with the rivalry and everything, but it’s all about us. For me, it’s all about us!’ He clicked his fingers and the snap was theatrical, a reminder that conviction sometimes has to be performed before it can be felt. ‘In football, momentum can change like that!’ he declared.
It needs to change. Tottenham have won one in seven and only twice at home in the Premier League this season. Supporters are fed up – with everything from some of Frank’s comments and his playing style to the club’s recruitment and ambition, or perceived absence of it. But then, much of that discontent predated Frank’s summer arrival.
I sat with him in the sweatbox of Seoul in July and chatted, on and off the record, about what lay ahead. It was approaching 40°C but he was super cool, even if cautious given the frying pan he knew he was jumping into. But, back then, there was optimism and enthusiasm.
‘I think this can be fantastic,’ he had said. ‘The opportunity to make a difference here is massive. I’ll go in, I’ll be brave, I’ll be myself. I’m super excited.’
The surprise is that, for too much of this season, Frank has not been himself, at least not the disarmingly charismatic version the Premier League had come to know during seven years at Brentford, and who sat before me in South Korea.
There has been irritation with fans and their expectation, friction with some players and an admission he is not enjoying the job.
The surprise is that, for too much of this season, Frank has not been himself, at least not the charismatic version we had come to know during his years at Brentford
Back in the summer in South Korea, Frank had been chipper about the challenges ahead
So, what would the Frank of today say to the Frank of July by way of advice or warning?
‘That’s a good question,’ he replied, and then paused. ‘I think I have been very clear that it would not be straightforward. The first year, in many ways – not to talk too much about last season – it’s fair to say we’re in a bit of a transitional season, but where we still need to perform.
‘I still think we have performed a bit better to where we are (14th) – but the offensive play is something I look back on and I would say, “Please don’t get Dom, Maddison and Kulusevksi injured!”.’
But that’s not possible?
‘No,’ he said, grimly. ‘That’s not possible.’
Frank is right to offer injuries to James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke as mitigation. He will also now be without striker Richarlison for seven weeks. But there was, you felt, a definite shift in tone this week – he did not sit down with a violin, it was more a drumbeat of defiance.
He even bared his teeth with animalistic menace when talking passionately about his attacking players who can bite West Ham on Saturday afternoon. He also showed little patience when one reporter questioned the team’s poor return from ‘high turnovers’.
‘I think we are quite good at that,’ he snapped back. ‘I know we win it high. We are one of the best in the league.’
Frank admits Tottenham have missed the creativity of the injured James Maddison
Spurs have this week signed Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid for £34.7m
The £34.7m arrival of England midfielder Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid will help improve those numbers still further. Frank seemed buoyed by that, as well as the addition of John Heitinga to his coaching staff.
Most recently in charge of Ajax, the cynical view is that Heitinga is Tottenham’s interim manager in waiting. Not so, says Frank and the club’s hierarchy.
Indeed, all of the messaging this week has been of a united front, and Frank’s self-assurance and measured aggression has set a vibe his players must translate on to the pitch.
If not, it will be back to The Secret of Secrets, and trying to crack a code that has so far eluded him in North London.
