Why Tottenham’s kind festive fixtures are make or break for Thomas Frank, writes IAN LADYMAN – as his sloppy side’s performances continue to fluctuate

Another home game gone for Tottenham and another defeat to mark on 2025’s dismal ledger.

That’s just two home wins out of nine in the Premier League this season – against Burnley and Brentford – and 11 league defeats in front of their own supporters since the start of the calendar year.

A Spurs home ticket is one of the most expensive in the land. No wonder those who continue to turn up do so more in vain hope than any kind of expectation.

On Saturday – after a late nine-man cavalry charge had narrowly failed to snatch a point against Liverpool – Tottenham manager Thomas Frank looked as agitated as he ever does. His team’s performance had encouraged him in some ways. There was a security about Spurs that is not always apparent.

Equally, there had been a lack of discipline. The Dane expressed himself dissatisfied with the performance of the referee but deep down he will have known what we all knew, namely that the blame lay largely with his players.

Frank is fond of a long walk around London on a Sunday. Hat on and head down. Thinking time. He likes to clear his head of football but that will be hard to do at the moment. His short tenure at Tottenham has been one of fluctuating trajectories and emotions but it may be that it is approaching its defining weeks.

Frank expressed himself dissatisfied with the performance of the referee following Saturday’s defeat to Liverpool but deep down he will have known the blame lay largely with his players

It has not been a disaster for the former Brentford manager so far. He has a win at Manchester City under his belt, for example, while Champions League performances have kept Tottenham on the fringes of qualification.

But there has been no consistency. Only once have Frank’s Tottenham won back-to-back games in the league and that was right at the start of the campaign when that opening victory over Burnley was followed by what felt like an early statement win at City.

Since then, performances have fluctuated rather wildly but games between now and February present Frank with an opportunity to show supporters and indeed the Tottenham board with his version of what a Spurs team actually looks like.

Tottenham face City at home on February 1 but between now and then play Crystal Palace, Brentford, Sunderland, Bournemouth, West Ham and Burnley in the Premier League. There is also an FA Cup tie against Aston Villa and Champions League games between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt.

It feels as though Frank must emerge from that run of games with Tottenham tangibly moving forwards if his standing at the club he joined in the summer is not to weaken significantly. There are already some supporters who aren’t having him and that feels grossly unfair. The argument in his favour will weaken if his results don’t speak for him in the coming weeks.

In terms of his players, he has ridden out some early waves. Micky van de Ven, for example, was one of the players, along with Djed Spence, who ignored him when he asked them to thank the home supporters following a defeat to Chelsea.

But the Dutch defender at least tried to point to some unity on Saturday, saying: ‘We felt the fans really pushed us forward when we were nine men.

‘On the pitch, we knew maybe we could get something here, we can get the result. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. What can I say?

‘I’m proud of the boys.

‘It’s a lot of emotions going through my head. I’m proud of the team and of course I’m gutted, disappointed. I’m angry how some things were going in the game. But we can get nothing changed about it anymore.’