Tottenham boss Thomas Frank hailed Xavi Simons after he inspired a much-needed 2-0 home win over Brentford but urged him to make sure this “good step” is just the start.
Pressure had started to mount on Frank after a succession of tepid home displays and a run of three defeats in four matches, but the Danish coach handed Xavi a first start since November 8 to great effect.
It took Xavi only 25 minutes to set up Richarlison’s opener before the £52million playmaker got off the mark in his 19th appearance with a fine solo goal in the 43rd minute to clinch Spurs only a fourth home league win in 2025.
“Happy for him. He has been working very hard, he is a top pro, he is so determined and wants it so badly in every aspect of his game, but it’s a little bit of adaptation and also the team a little bit out of sync,” Frank said.
“Every player needs that extra bit of confidence and that comes from his performance, the team’s performance and that assist and goal gave him that extra bit of lightness in his step and his touches.
“For him, it was also an all-round very good performance.”
Xavi sprinkled stardust on an encouraging improved team display at home with a wonderful second goal after being consigned to the bench for the past four matches.
With 43 minutes played, Xavi initially lost possession to Mikkel Damsgaard but won it back from Sepp van den Berg and carried from the halfway line to leave Yehor Yarmoliuk trailing behind before he drilled into the bottom corner to open his account for Spurs.
Frank added: “That is what I believed from the beginning that Xavi could produce, that out of nothing (moment) and everything just needs a bit of adaptation.
“With everything, him, the team, this was a very good step. Now we need to do it again and again and again but yeah, very happy for him.”
This was an important fixture for Frank even if the noise around his position felt more external rather than internal, with Spurs on a poor run of one win in eight before the visit of his old club.
Another defeat at home – after last Saturday’s shock 2-1 loss to Fulham – would have sparked more debate, but Tottenham should have won by a greater margin with Djed Spence, Wilson Odobert and Pape Sarr denied in the second half.
“Very happy with the win. I think that’s the most important thing,” Frank insisted.
“What I would say, I was just extremely happy with the offensive performance. It just looked more right.”
Brentford boss Keith Andrews had worked under Frank last season, but said: “I saw Thomas briefly before but no, it didn’t feel strange at all. I was just totally engrossed in the game and how that looked.
“The first half we didn’t hit the levels we had and we came up against a team that upped their level from what I had seen and we need to own it.”
