Spurs boss Thomas Frank is under growing pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, following his Arsenal cup blunder at Bournemouth and his team's FA Cup struggles against Aston Villa
18:44, 10 Jan 2026Updated 19:10, 10 Jan 2026
Thomas Frank during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa.
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Thomas Frank is under growing pressure at Tottenham and has been the subject of taunts from Aston Villa fans. (Image: Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has been the subject of taunts from travelling Aston Villa fans during the FA Cup third round clash between the two teams.
During the first half the 9,000 fans in the sway end could be heard signing "Thomas Frank is an Arsenal fan." The chant refers to pictures emerging of the Spurs head coach drinking out of an Arsenal branded cup ahead of Wednesday night's 3-2 loss against Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Later in the match, with Villa leading, chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" could be heard, presumably coming from the away end.
Tottenham went into the match against Villa looking to bounce back from the disappointment of the loss against Bournemouth.
But goals from Emi Buendia in the 22nd minute and Morgan Rogers just before half time saw them trail 2-0 at the break. Wilson Odobert halved the deficit in the second half as Spurs searched for a way to turn the game around.
A possible early exit from the FA Cup piles more pressure on Frank.
Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven, Joao Palhinha and Xavi Simons appear dejected after Aston Villa score their second goal during the Emirates FA Cup third round match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Tottenham were 2-0 down at half time of their FA Cup clash vs Aston Villa (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire.)
It will not be helped by the image of him holding the Arsenal cup. Responding following the game against Bournemouth, he said: "I think it's fair to say that we're not winning every single football match so it would be absolutely, completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal.
"Is there anyone thinking I've done that? All the staff has done it.
"They've been in the changing room, the game before us. Its normal to take a cup, give me an espresso, I do that before every game. I think actually it's a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question about that.
"I think we're definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club, of course I'll never do that. That's extremely stupid."
Should Spurs go on to lose against Villa, it will mean that the team are winless in their last four games in all competitions, having only won once in their last seven matches.
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Following the FA Cup clash with Villa, Spurs are back in action next weekend when they host struggling West Ham United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Ahead of that game, Tottenham were handed another injury blow. During the game against Villa, forward Richarlison was forced off the pitch in the first half with what looked like a hamstring injury.
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