Thomas Frank oversaw training at Tottenham on Sunday and maintained a business-as-usual front before the club’s Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night – despite the uncertainty that is raging over this future.
The manager’s continued employment is in the balance after Spurs’ last-gasp 2-1 home defeat against West Ham on Saturday when the club’s supporters called for him to be “sacked in the morning”. The result kept Tottenham 14th in the Premier League and continued their miserable run in the competition. They have won only two of their past 13 games in the league.
Spurs have just brought the former Ajax manager, John Heitinga, on to Frank’s staff to replace the assistant, Matt Wells, who left before Christmas to become the head coach at Colorado Rapids. Heitinga took the session on Sunday, with Frank in his normal overseeing role. Frank said he had driven Heitinga’s appointment, despite the suggestion the Dutchman could replace him on a caretaker basis if the board decides to make a change.
The situation is precarious. The directors have been reluctant to dismiss Frank as they are mindful of the problems he has faced – not all of them have been of his own making during what was always likely to be a transitional season.
Vinai Venkatesham, the chief executive, wrote an open letter to supporters before the West Ham game, the tone of which was calm and reassuring, the overriding message being a call for patience.
Yet toxicity and disaster followed when the West Ham substitute, Callum Wilson, scored a stoppage-time winner, sparking mutiny among the home crowd. The fans booed at various points of the game, including when Frank substituted the winger Mathys Tel, whom they had wanted to stay on. The ill-feeling bubbled over after Wilson’s goal, with sustained booing at the final whistle and leaving the board with a decision to make.
