Thomas Frank danced around the word that is haunting Tottenham supporters and did his utmost to avoid saying it. Only once did he utter ‘relegation’ during a 30-minute press conference dominated by questions on the subject.
That moment came in response to a parallel drawn to Tuesday night’s opponents Newcastle and their team featuring Michael Owen, Shay Given and Damien Duff, relegated in 2009 after being dubbed too good to go down.
Frank’s point was that if Spurs were ‘a little bit higher’ the questions would be about reaching the ‘top four’, but because they were ‘not as high’ the questions were about ‘relegation’ and either way, his answer would be the same, that he was only focused on the next game.
‘There’s no doubt we are desperate to win games,’ Frank said and reinforced it for effect. ‘Desperate.’ He is, at least, more comfortable with the d-word than the r-word.
‘When you haven’t won enough, you need to be desperate, because if you’re not desperate, you don’t understand the situation you’re in. In terms of you don’t win enough. You need to turn it and win enough football games. That’s what we want for the fans, that’s what we want for the team, for the club.’
The uncomfortable truth, however, is that Spurs are deep in a trench of relegation form.
Thomas Frank only used the word ‘relegation’ once during his press conference, but admitted his Tottenham side are ‘desperate’ for results
Tottenham are deep in a trench of relegation form and have gone seven league games without a win
They have beaten Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and enjoyed pockets of positivity, such as a stirring fightback for a draw against Manchester City, the last-gasp equaliser at Burnley and a promising half an hour before Cristian Romero hit self-destruct with a red card at Manchester United.
But over their last 38 games — the course of a full Premier League campaign — Spurs have a meagre return of 37 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are the only team with fewer points of those who have spent both the last two years in the top flight. Sunderland, who were promoted in May, have 36.
Although the problems pre-date Frank, who has taken 29 points from his 25 games in charge, they are now well established. The grim truth for Spurs fans is that they have lost 32 Premier League games since the beginning of last season and have managed just two home wins all season.
Spurs are on another miserable run: seven Premier League games without a win. At this rate, they are going to struggle to break 40 points, for many years the recognised survival target although rarely required recently.
Down below, however, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and West Ham have kicked into better form since the turn of the year. Crystal Palace have halted their freefall with a win at Brighton.
Spurs, who finished just one place clear of relegation but 13 points above Leicester in 18th last season, are currently six clear of West Ham with a far better goal difference.
They should not be sucked into peril and yet if Newcastle win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night, West Ham could be level on points by the time Spurs host Arsenal on Sunday week.
Frank delivered a gloomy bulletin on Dejan Kulusevski, who has been out since April, as he admitted he was unsure whether the midfielder will be back this season
Injuries, meanwhile, continue to complicate matters for Frank. Destiny Udogie is the latest on a casualty list of senior players already in double figures. Udogie damaged a hamstring at United on Saturday and will be out for more than a month.
Kevin Danso, who tore ligaments in a big toe in Frankfurt, will not be back for ‘weeks’ according to Frank.
Romero misses the next four games through suspension after his second red card of the season and there was a gloomy bulletin on Dejan Kulusevski, who has been out since April with a serious knee injury.
Kulusevski had initially targeted a return in December, but was still in pain and so started a course of injections last month in the hope it might clear him to return to his rehabilitation.
He was not selected for the Champions League squad, however, and when asked if he expected to have him back before the end of the season, Frank admitted he did not know.
‘Deki has another appointment at the end of this week where we’ll know more,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘But, of course, out of the Champions League squad, it’s a sign that it’s not tomorrow.’
Add further absentees in the shape of James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison and Ben Davies, and it is understandable why the fanbase is feeling jittery.
So the outlook is bleak for Spurs fans tormented by the horror of a Domesday scenario where relegation for the first time since 1977 is amplified by Arsenal potentially being crowned Premier League champions.
Mauricio Pochettino has offered a reminder that he would one day love to return to Tottenham, which comes at unfortunate timing for Frank as many fans still pine for the Pochettino era
This train of thought invites pressure upon Frank because if he cannot halt the slide, the board, for all their determination to hold their nerve and stand by him, might feel they have no option but to fire him in the hope of jolting the team from the downward spiral and picking up the wins to avoid relegation.
Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, issued another reminder during an interview on the High Performance Podcast that he would love to return one day to Spurs. Pochettino is head coach of the United States and there is no prospect of him leaving before the World Cup this summer.
The timing of the interview is unfortunate for Frank because many Spurs fans still pine for the Pochettino era, when they were runners-up in the Premier League and the Champions League.
They sing his name by way of protest to make clear their dissatisfaction at the way things have been since he left in 2019. ‘I met Mauricio a few times, great guy, a great coach,’ said Frank, resisting the idea his predecessor might be making life awkward.
‘He’s a legend. I don’t think he won a trophy, but he was part of transforming the club, from where it was at that stage, to where it ended being in terms of being close to winning the Premier League title and getting into the Champions League final.
‘If you are close, then you are very close to winning it. Sometimes in football, it’s margins. Pochettino did a top job here and is a true legend, so if the fans sing his name, it’s well deserved.’
