Frank’s Reflections on Disappointing Derby Loss

omidbasir- Head coach Frank acknowledged his confidence ahead of the North London derby; however, Arsenal decisively defeated Tottenham, who managed a mere Expected Goals tally of 0.07 and only three shots on target. Following the loss on Sunday, the former Brentford manager, who joined Spurs on a three-year contract this summer, extended his apologies to the traveling fans.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Frank stated, “This is extremely painful; I won’t shy away from that. It was a poor performance, completely contrary to our intentions upon arriving here. We owe the fans an apology for how we played. Regardless of both teams’ attempts to compete, Arsenal capitalized on their opportunities, while we struggled. When we opted for long balls, we failed to win enough duels, illustrated by the sequences leading to the second and third goals. We did not perform well, and we lost. Although I’ve seen resilience and determination in this team, we simply did not win enough duels, and that is indisputable.”

According to The Telegraph, Tottenham is willing to afford Frank the necessary time to rectify the situation. Nevertheless, there are concerns that his frequent lineup changes are complicating matters. The report suggests that Frank’s numerous rotations have contributed to the team’s inconsistency and lack of creativity. Some players hope he will concentrate more on the team’s strengths instead of focusing on the opposition, though it remains unclear how widespread this sentiment is among the squad. The club’s ownership, the Lewis family, is aiming for long-term success under Frank, indicating that no immediate changes are planned. Notably, Frank has made 29 alterations to his starting XI in the Premier League so far, ranking third in the league behind Wolves (39) and Chelsea (31).

In addition, Frank remarked that he attempted to implement the same tactics that Tottenham used during their agonizing UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in August; however, the result was an “extremely bad” performance.

He added, “This is an incredibly tough defeat to accept. We are all feeling emotional and frustrated, and we need to analyze the situation with clear heads. I went into the game feeling confident about our competitiveness, but we fell short, which is disappointing. We tried something different that had previously worked well against PSG, but it did not yield the desired results today. I take full responsibility for my decisions; when things do not unfold as expected, that falls on me. We made adjustments at half-time, but I am absolutely certain that no matter the formation, if we do not win enough duels or exhibit the necessary aggression, the formation becomes irrelevant.”

Upcoming challenges loom for Tottenham, as they are set to face UEFA Champions League holders PSG following their disappointing loss to league leaders Arsenal. One critical area Frank is eager to address is their lack of attacking prowess.

He stated, “The lack of creativity has been a persistent issue that we are diligently working to improve. Our performance today, as well as against Chelsea, was not encouraging. We need to enhance several aspects of our game. We are four months into this project, and it is evident that they are further along in their development as a team. Naturally, there will be criticism; losing to our fiercest rivals in such a manner is tough. However, we aim to filter out distractions and maintain our focus. I have faith in this team’s competitive spirit, as evidenced by our performances against Manchester City and PSG. Today’s display was disappointing and simply not up to standard.”