Thomas Frank says he isn\u2019t bothered by what pundits think of his Tottenham side and has explained why Xavi Simons has recently been left out of the starting XI.<\/p>\n
Spurs have struggled after their strong opening under Frank, managing only three wins in their last 12 matches. They have shipped nine goals across defeats to Arsenal and PSG, though their attacking play improved in the 5\u20133 loss in Paris on Wednesday. Pundits have been critical, and former Spurs defender Ramon Vega recently claimed on talkSPORT that Frank lacks the courage to impose his tactics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen any of it because I don\u2019t read anything,\u201d Frank said. \u201cMy press officer tells me what I need to know. When I joined the club, I knew two things: we\u2019d lose games and I\u2019d get criticised. I honestly don\u2019t care what people say. I listen only to those I trust. It\u2019s always easier to comment from the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fulham come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday aiming to worsen Spurs\u2019 poor home form, with just three home wins in 2025. This is unfamiliar territory for Frank, whose Brentford side had a club-record 19 home points at this stage last season.
\n\u201cThat was a journey together where everything clicked,\u201d he said, recalling a front four of Wissa, Mbeumo, Schade and Damsgaard. \u201cThey connected perfectly, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re working hard to find here. I\u2019m sure it will come. Hopefully we see signs on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
One key player Frank hopes will spark into life is summer signing Xavi Simons. The \u00a351m recruit from RB Leipzig has yet to score, registering just two assists across 16 appearances. He was benched for the Arsenal and PSG matches, and Frank was asked how he had responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cXavi\u2019s been fine. Like many players coming to the Premier League for the first time, it\u2019s never simple,\u201d Frank said. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of adapting. Ultimately, selection is about performance. That applies to everyone \u2014 Wilson, Mo, Joao, whoever didn\u2019t play. We ask: do you offer enough attacking output? Do you work hard defensively? Can you press with the intensity required? Do you contribute on set pieces? And of course, different games require different qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether the Fulham match could be Xavi\u2019s breakout moment \u2014 similar to Randal Kolo Muani scoring twice for PSG midweek \u2014 Frank agreed.
\n\u201cIt definitely could,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re working out how to break teams down, how to create more, how to get enough goalscorers on the pitch. Two strikers worked in Paris. We know we\u2019re still developing. There might be a middle stage before we get to where we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank rejects any claims he is a defensive coach.
\n\u201cAnyone who has watched my teams over the years \u2014 even back when I coached under-eights \u2014 knows I want to play attacking, front-foot football,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there will always be games where it doesn\u2019t work. It didn\u2019t work at Arsenal. That was supposed to be front-footed but we weren\u2019t, so we adjusted. After Sunday I was angry and hurt. In Paris I was irritated, but at least we competed and showed much more of the identity I want.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thomas Frank says he isn\u2019t bothered by what pundits think of his Tottenham side and has explained why Xavi Simons has recently been left out of the starting XI. Spurs have struggled after their strong opening under Frank, managing only three wins in their last 12 matches. They have shipped nine goals across defeats to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":55287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_Arsenal-v-Tottenham-Hotspur-Premier-League.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55619,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55618\/revisions\/55619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}