Difficult to be Spurs coach, says embattled Thomas Frank and likens the challenges at Spurs to running a marathon.
Thomas Frank admits ‘it’s difficult to enjoy’ being Tottenham head coach.
Thomas Frank has said that he is dissatisfied with his work at Tottenham. As he navigates what was always going to be a transitional season, the head coach is dealing with a number of issues, the most pressing of which is his team’s lack of innovation.
Following Spurs’ 0-0 stalemate at Brentford on Thursday, the travelling crowd jeered and sang “boring, boring Tottenham.” However, Frank is certain that once, and only if, his team comes out of the ordeal stronger and wiser, he will be able to look back on the first half of his first season with greater fondness. Tottenham, who are now ranked 12th in the Premier League, will play Sunderland at home on Sunday.
“When you need to put in a big, big shift and it’s not smooth and it’s tough, it’s probably difficult to enjoy it,” he said. “If I run hard I don’t enjoy that moment but I know I need to keep my head down and run hard to get through it. We are in a situation where you need to run hard, to stay in it. When we look back on this spell or maybe this first year when it was tough, you’ll think: ‘What a learning, what an experience, it made us so much better for the future.’
“So the short answer is: no [he is not enjoying his job]. The reality is you can’t. But when I put myself out of it and look down, I think: ‘What a privilege to be in charge of this fantastic club in a period where it’s a big transition.’ It’s definitely a marathon and it definitely seems like it’s one of the more heavy miles I’m on now, but head down and keep going.”
The difficulties Tottenham has had at home in the league are widely known. Similarly, their participation in the Champions League puts pressure on the team. Similarly, there have been an extraordinary amount of changes at the executive level, with Daniel Levy’s resignation being the most prominent. Another one is anticipated, since Fabio Paratici, the co-sporting director, is strongly associated with a transfer to Fiorentina. When Manor Solomon, a winger, ended his loan at Villarreal this week to move to Fiorentina, who were also on loan, it caused some controversy.
Frank was asked who Paratici was working for. “Good question, maybe you know,” he said with a smile before re-joining the party line. “Fabio is Tottenham sporting director. I spoke to him twice yesterday. He is working very hard for Tottenham.”