Tottenham are enjoying a positive start to the new campaign under Thomas Frank
Tottenham have been one of the standout performers in the Premier League this season. The Lilywhites are enjoying their impressive start to the new campaign under Thomas Frank, climbing up to third on the league table after winning five of their opening nine matches. Most of those wins have come away from home to the surprise of many fans.
Spurs have collected the most points on the road this season (13), and it is fair to say that Thomas Frank has mastered the craft of grinding out positive results against tricky opponents. Their most memorable win this season came at the Etihad Stadium, when the Lilywhites thoroughly outperformed Manchester City and secured all three points in some style.
Tottenham remain a work in progress under Thomas Frank this season.
Tottenham remain a work in progress under Thomas Frank this season.
The pragmatic approach adopted by the Danish tactician has made Spurs difficult to break down this season. They have already kept four clean sheets in the Premier League, three of which have come away from home in tricky conditions. The North London club also became the first team to beat Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium this season, ending the Toffees’ unbeaten streak at their brand-new stadium.
Tottenham need to improve home form under Thomas Frank this season
Despite their impressive results on the road, Tottenham’s struggles at home still continue to persist. The Lilywhites have only managed to win three of their last 18 Premier League matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This is a worrying statistic for a team that is aiming to close the gap on its rivals and fight at the top-end of the league table. Many fans have also expressed concern that their home ground no longer feels like a ‘fortress’ following a string of disappointing performances.
Echoing those concerns, Thomas Frank has now admitted that he wants to focus on improving Spurs’ home form in the Premier League. Speaking in his pre-match presser (via Tottenham Hotspur website), Frank said,
“It’s still a relatively small sample. Hopefully, at the end of the year, the stats are fantastic away and fantastic home. It’s a new team, but still a team that needs to find each other. And how I see it, the way we’ve chosen to build it.”
The Spurs boss added,
“I think we now have nine Premier League games, 14 games in total and we had one bad performance against Bournemouth, second half against Wolves, second half against Monaco, a bad performance. So, I think in general, we’re building.”
Frank believes Spurs have not played enough games this season to fully understand why they struggle to produce the same results at home. However, the Danish tactician wants his team to replicate the away form in front of their home fans so they can continue to build on last season’s Europa League success. The Lilywhites remain a work in progress under Frank despite their impressive start this season, something reflected in their poor displays against Bournemouth, Wolves and AS Monaco.
The onus is now on Thomas Frank to steady the ship at N17 and take full advantage of the passionate support from the Spurs faithful. The Lilywhites need to constantly play on the front foot, which will undoubtedly help Frank compete on all fronts come the end of the season. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in all its glory, can become the ‘12th man’ for Spurs, and that is something that Frank’s men must learn to harness when the going gets tough.