Thomas Frank has been sacked by Tottenham after a disastrous run of form, but the Danish manager had several fractious relationships with his players during his time in north London
Thomas Frank has been sacked by Tottenham following a dreadful spell that left the club stuck in 16th position in the Premier League. The Danish boss endured numerous heated clashes with players throughout his troubled reign in north London.
Despite only arriving from Brentford in June, Frank was dismissed by Spurs after a winless run stretching across eight fixtures. The hunt for his replacement has now begun. Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United was the breaking point. When combined with other results from that evening, Tottenham now sit perilously just five points clear of relegation.
Throughout his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Frank frequently clashed with members of his squad. The Daily Star Sport looks at four Spurs stars who had run-ins with the recently axed manager.
Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Perhaps the most significant and public row Frank had with any of his players came after the 1-0 loss to Chelsea last November. Following the final whistle, he remained on the pitch to thank the fans, many of whom had booed his side during the defeat.
He gestured for both Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence to join him, but the duo ignored their manager and marched straight down the tunnel. Frank played down this incident when speaking to the media later that evening.
Just days after the episode, Frank revealed that both players had come forward with apologies. He said: “Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation.
“They didn’t want it to look bad. So there was no disrespect meant at all towards the team or me. They were just frustrated with the performance from us and the booing during the game.”
Yves Bissouma
Yves Bissouma has regularly found himself in the spotlight for reasons unrelated to football during his time at Tottenham. Last summer saw manager Frank confronting the Mali international over disciplinary issues.
Before the UEFA Super Cup in August, Bissouma was entirely excluded from the Tottenham squad travelling to Italy for the PSG clash. When questioned about his decision, Frank disclosed the player had consistently arrived late, forcing his hand.
Frank declared before his first competitive fixture as boss: “Bissouma isn’t here because of disciplinary reasons. He has been late several times, the latest one too many.
“We need to give love and have demands but there have to be consequences. There’s been a consequence. We will follow it up when we get home and park it for now.”
Mathys Tel
Young Spurs striker Mathys Tel endured a tense exchange with boss Frank back in January, after a crushing home loss to West Ham. Despite being handed a starting berth, Tel was hauled off in the 62nd minute with Tottenham behind 1-0.
The 20-year-old had delivered a decent display and was clearly frustrated when he was withdrawn for Dominic Solanke. His annoyance was evident as he slumped on the bench in a sulk, and reports suggest he barely gave Frank a glance when substituted. The fixture concluded in a 2-1 defeat.
Spurs supporters made their displeasure known when Tel was withdrawn, forcing Frank to clarify his reasoning. He said: “I need to make decisions, of course. So I had to take one offensive player off.
“And I feel Wilson [Odobert] is a bit better to the right and wanted two strikers on the pitch. So that was the decision. There was nothing wrong with Mathys’ performance.”