PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 26: Coach of Tottenham Hotspur Thomas Frank salutes the supporters following the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Tottenham Hotspur at Parc des Princes stadium on November 26, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The outlook for Thomas Frank as Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager was, for a while, positive. Spurs started the 2025/26 season in positive form. Frank appeared to have given the North London outfit a new direction and Tottenham was flying high near the top of the Premier League table.
More recently, though, the mood has shifted. Spurs has won just one of its last six fixtures in all competitions with last week’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in the North London Derby an illustration of everything that is now going wrong for Frank and his players. The Danish coach might be fighting for his job.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23: Jurrien Timber of Arsenal crosses the ball under pressure from Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero of Tottenham during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
The starkest thing about the heavy loss at the Emirates Stadium wasn’t that Spurs conceded four times, it was that the single goal it registered was an attacking over-performance. Tottenham accrued just 0.07 in Expected Goals (xG), the second-lowest xG of any team in a Premier League match this season. The lowest xG (0.01) also belongs to Spurs (against Chelsea).
It hasn’t helped that James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke have missed the majority of the season so far through injury. Nonetheless, Frank is surely concerned by how toothless his team is in the final third of the pitch. This must change soon otherwise Frank could be on his way out of the club.
“Part of taking this job was to have the challenges,” said Frank. “Part of that is to manage those setbacks and learn and move on. One thing I’m 1,000% sure of… I know how to build a team, I know how to build a club and we will do that. The big thing is how we learn from the bad spells. That’s when we also can see when we go 1-0 down – how do we react as a team? The best teams just continually move on. They still run hard, they still do the same thing. There’s no doubt in that.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s Danish head coach Thomas Frank attends a team training session at the Tottenham training centre in Enfield, north London, on November 25, 2025, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League league phase football match against Paris Saint-Germain. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Wednesday’s away performance to Paris Saint-Germain was certainly an improvement in an attacking sense. Tottenham posed a genuine threat against the reigning European champions, scoring three goals. Even after a 5-3 defeat, there were some positives for Frank to draw on.
Spurs must carry this into Saturday’s home fixture against Fulham. Nothing less than a win will do. Frank must prove his approach and style of play is the right one to point Tottenham in the right direction. Another display like the one that stunk the place out against Arsenal will raise yet more questions about the Dane’s future.