Tottenham’s never-say-die attitude impresses Thomas Frank after late leveller – UK Times

Thomas Frank praised Tottenham’s mentality after Joao Palhinha’s stoppage-time leveller rescued a “huge” point at home to Wolves.

Palhinha struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to deny the visitors a shock victory after Santiago Bueno tapped in a 54th-minute opener for bottom-of-the-table Wolves.

Wolves arrived in north London after five consecutive Premier League losses and three points for Tottenham would have sent them second within two points of leaders Liverpool, but they struggled to create clear-cut chances until Palhinha’s fine curled finish late on.

“I like the effort and mentality and I think it is huge actually and I mean that to get a point on a night where it is not perfect, especially not in the second half,” Frank said a week on from a 2-2 draw at Brighton.

“Now that is two times in a row we come back. I think that tells a lot about the players.

“Yes we want more and we did not hit our highest performance level today, but when you are down at 90 plus and you get a point, I think that’s positive.”

Frank elected to play Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur together in midfield again, which was also the case in the 1-0 home loss to Bournemouth in August.

The experienced duo have impressed this season and bring a level of defensive steel, but little creativity.

Asked about his midfield selection, Frank said: “I will always look back at it but a good, old coach told me once that the line-up you picked, you did that for a reason and you don’t know what would happen if you pick the other one. Maybe you would have lost 2-0.

“So, I need to go with what I believe in of course. That is not to say I am not watching the game back and not reflecting and thinking. I actually think first half was quite good and we created enough.

“We would like to create a bit more, yes but actually after I took Rodri out, you could say it didn’t work because we lost the structure, so who knows? One thing is for sure, we need to do a little bit better in the second half.

“Of course I try to look into what is the best midfield. I think it is fair to say both Rodri and Joao have been very good for us so far this season and Lucas (Bergvall) has been fantastic, so you like to keep your players a little bit in flow.”

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira praised the fight of his players, but conceded letting victory slip at the death was a bitter pill to swallow, especially after no points from their first five Premier League matches.

“One I am proud of my players and happy with the spirit they show in the game and the ambition they show in the game, but frustrated because when we have three points and we lose two in the last minute, it is difficult,” Pereira said.

“The question is did we win one point or lose two? My answer is we lost two points because the team showed that we came here to win the game, especially in the second half.”