Thomas Frank has said he ‘didn’t notice’ he was drinking from an Arsenal cup ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth, adding that it would have been ‘absolutely stupid’ for him to do so.
Frank was spotted drinking from a cup emblazoned with the crest of Tottenham’s archrivals Arsenal. The image, taken at the Vitality Stadium, quickly went viral and sparked mixed reactions.
Speaking after the game, Frank was asked about the incident, to which he said:
“I definitely didn’t notice it. I think it’s fair to say that not winning every football match… It would be absolutely completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal on it. Anyone thinking I’ve done that or the staff has done it… They were in the changing room the game before us. It's normal to say 'give me a cup of espresso' before every game. So, I think actually it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question about that. We are definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with a logo of another club. Of course I would never do that. That’s extremely stupid.”
Mathys Tel opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but Bournemouth turned the game on its head before the break, with strikes from Evanilson and Eli Junior Kroupi. Joao Palhinha put Tottenham level in the 78th minute, but Antoine Semenyo struck in the fifth minute of added time to give the Cherries a 3-2 victory on home soil.
“It's very painful” – Thomas Frank on Tottenham’s 3-2 loss to Bournemouth
Thomas Frank admitted it was ‘very painful’ to concede a late goal following Wednesday’s defeat. The 52-year-old claimed his side played well in the second half and were closer to taking all three points than Bournemouth. He told reporters:
“Definitely. I think it's very tough to sit here right now and we haven't got anything out of overall a good performance. I think we started well, got up 1-0, conceding two goals on second phase set pieces. Especially the second one, we needed to do much better. But I really liked the character in the team and from the players, they gave everything.
“The second half, I think we were completely on top, and keep going even through disappointments and small setbacks, which we talked about before. Work very, very hard with the players and the team on that.
“Don't score inside the post from Richie, overturn the penalty, keep going, getting the equaliser, 2-2. After that, I think we are closer to winning than Bournemouth are. With the Micky header, with all the good opportunities. So, to sit here and concede in five, six minutes of extra time is very painful, very tough. But that's football.”
Tottenham have only managed two wins from their last 12 top-flight games and now sit 14th in the table.