Thomas Frank has enjoyed a strong start to life at Tottenham, with plenty of positive signs coming for the Danish boss early on.
Thomas Frank made it four wins from his first five games in charge after Spurs beat Villarreal 1-0 in the Champions League, proving he has steadied the ship after last season’s rollercoaster.
Despite Tottenham winning the Europa League after downing Manchester United in the final in May, Ange Postecoglou was sacked during the summer following a dismal 17th-placed finish in the Premier League.
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The news was met with widespread shock and anger from supporters, but Danny Murphy has claimed the decision to bring in Frank instead is paying off handsomely.
Thomas Frank reacts after Tottenham's victory against Villarreal in the Champions League
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Danny Murphy says Thomas Frank has fixed Tottenham’s defence
Murphy, who played for the club between 2006 and 2007, is encouraged by what he has seen from Frank’s first few matches, including Tottenham’s newfound resilience at the back.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy said: “He’s fixing the main problem that Tottenham had last year, which is why they finished 17th. They conceded so many goals and they were wide open.
“He’s gone in there and gone, ‘We’re going to be better defensively, first and foremost, and we’ll sacrifice the looking great and creativity for a little while.” That’s exactly what you should do.
“I think it will evolve from an attacking point of view, because they’ve got plenty of options to do that. But right now, he’s fixed the problem. Right now, some boring wins, which I’m sure Tottenham fans are happy with at the moment.
“He’s fixing [it]. They’ve had four clean sheets in five. That tells you they’re well organised.”
Micky van de Ven has been equally impressed with Frank and the turnaround is clear, especially considering Tottenham shipped a staggering 65 league goals under Postecoglou last season.
Ange Postecoglou reacts after Nottingham Forest's defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League
Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images
Thomas Frank delighted with Tottenham’s defending
Speaking after his side’s nervy opening victory, Frank was full of praise for Spurs’ defensive display.
“I’m happy with the clean sheet,” he told reporters. “I’m happy with the defensive side of the game. I think we were extremely good and limited Villarreal to very little throughout the game.
“It was a very even game that we edged in the end. What I like is that our foundation is strong.
“Now we are four games won, three in the Premier League, one in the Champions League, and we have four (clean) sheets, which is massive.”
As the old adage goes, the attack will win you games, but the defence will win you titles.
Spurs will certainly need to keep throwing their bodies on the line if they’re to clinch more silverware this season.