Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank after the Premier League defeat to Chelsea. Photo credit: John Walton/PA Wire.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank after the Premier League defeat to Chelsea. Photo credit: John Walton/PA Wire.
Sam Wallace
©Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd
Today at 14:19
Thomas Frank was publicly blanked on the pitch by both Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven when the Tottenham Hotspur manager asked both of them to turn around and applaud the home support after a dismal 1-0 home defeat to rivals Chelsea.
A video taken by a fan, and circulated on social media, showed the moment that Frank came on to the pitch after shaking the hand of counterpart Enzo Maresca and encountered the pair heading for the tunnel. Having failed to get a response from either of them, the Spurs manager looked over his shoulder in disbelief at Van de Ven and Spence as they ignored him and headed straight to the tunnel.
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Frank tried to defuse the situation around two of his key defenders. “All the players are of course frustrated,” Frank said. “They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform well, so I understand that. I think it is about [how it] is difficult to be consistent in good times and in bad times. That is why I went around to the fans as I did. It is more fun when we win, I can tell you that.”
Asked about the image of him looking back at the pair, and whether their behaviour was acceptable, Frank said: “I understand why you ask the question, but I think that is one of the small issues. We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence who are doing everything they can. They perform very well so far this season and everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, so I don’t think it is a big problem.”
Frank delivered a scathing verdict on his team’s overall performance as his players were booed off by a significant element of the home support.
“We all sense the frustration and the emotions,” Frank said. “That is part of football. It is extremely painful and of course that is part of the job to face you guys now and answer the very good questions when you just are burning inside. Chelsea were good and we were definitely second best. We performed badly. We lacked energy and intensity and that freshness we didn’t have that.”