What fans, insiders and stats say about embattled Frank

Thomas Frank

In the away end of the City Ground on Sunday, every Tottenham Hotspur supporter was given a free scarf by the club.

For at least one Spurs supporter, external, the knitwear was most useful for shielding their eyes from another dismal display by their team.

Spurs were beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest, a result which leaves them 11th in the Premier League, six points off the top four.

Under manager Thomas Frank, Spurs have lost as many league games as they have won this season and been beaten in three of their previous five.

For some Spurs fans, the comedown six months on from their Europa League triumph is impossible to take and they have turned on Frank.

The former Brentford manager's direct style of play, at times poorly implemented by the players, has also not endeared him to some supporters.

So where does this all leave Frank? Here's what the fans, the club insiders, and the stats have to say...

Just when you think it is safe to watch Spurs again, they deliver another nightmarish performance.

With consecutive positive performances at home in the Premier League and Champions League last week, it looked as though Thomas Frank's team was starting to build some consistency.

However, after a painfully pessimistic performance against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Spurs confirmed that they remain well and truly wedged in the 'storming' phase of team development.

When viewed through this lens, you can understand why Frank appears relatively calm on the touchline and in his post-match interviews. The project manager in him knows that change takes time, and what appears to be chaos from the outside is actually an integral part of the transformation needed at this club.

Unfortunately for Frank, and anyone else who agrees with him that "this is not a quick fix", in recent years managers at Spurs have not been given long to turn things around.

Hopefully, this time will be different.

In many respects, Frank's appointment at Spurs reminds me of when Gareth Southgate took the England job. Many questioned his experience and doubted his suitability at that level too.

While ultimately Southgate did not win anything with England, he did the unenviable but necessary work of changing the culture and laying the foundations for future success. He turned them into a team that justified the hype.