Thomas Frank has mostly enjoyed the rub of the green with results at Tottenham, but bad days can be building blocks if the intent is correct. A 2-2 draw at Brighton does not detract from the good work of the group on the turf, and the manager is making moves to ensure "consistency" becomes possible.
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‘We try to put in a good structure’
Frank has opened up about how he is trying to evolve the tactical framework. The offensive spine of the side is absent through injury or departures to pastures anew, and the Dane has decided to stabilise the structure. Over time, he hopes that the offensive elements will click into gear more intuitively.
“We try to put a good structure in place offensively defensively clear principles keep reinforcing the right messages: today for example we put many crosses in. It was a big part of what we want to do.”
Bournemouth battered Spurs with a high press, making progress out of Phase 1 nearly impossible. The display was much more convincing at the Amex Stadium, but many details still need finetuning.
“It could be a bit more quality, we could also had a bit more runs and we keep coaching them to run in the right gaps. If Richie ran in the right gaps, it's maybe two goals more for example as I think a lot of players can keep developing. That's a big part of what believe in and my coaching staff believe in.”
Spurs are used to putting in the work off the ball after two years of full throttle football with Ange Postecoglou at the helm. Frank continues to demand high physical output as a minimal requirement to be competitive among England's elite, and he is happy with what he saw from the team at Brighton.
“There was also a situation first half the way we sprinted back on a recovery runs like you know that's goosebumps that's bread and butter but you want to be resilient team because we play against good teams and it will be difficult sometimes but um it's a good group of players. They want to perform they are disappointed after the game you know even they come back they wanted to win of course.”
It is still early days to draw conclusions from the standings in the Premier League. So, for Frank, the top target on his agenda is setting standards and creating a standard of showing to compete each week.
“Right now it’s about that consistency. So we played five Premier League games. I think we had four good performances and one bad. I don't want ones that bad. Can we get all bad performances out and consistent produce good performances then on a on a day where whatever there's a mistake and you need to come back you still get a point or you maybe turn it around and win 2-1 or win 3-2.”
