‘The responsibility is mainly on the players’ – Spurs midfielder defends boss Thomas Frank | OneFootball

Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha says the players must take responsibility for their poor Premier League form amid pressure on boss Thomas Frank.

The Dane has faced criticism and boos from the Spurs fanbase after matches on many occasions this season with Spurs languishing in 14th position in the Premier League and out of both the domestic cups.

With only one win in their last six Premier League matches, including losses to West Ham and Bournemouth, Spurs find themselves closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

Despite Frank taking the majority of the criticism for that this season, Palhinha believes that the players are mostly to blame for Spurs’ poor results.

“I said before, of course, the injuries don’t help the team,” he explained. “Of course, the responsibility is mainly on the players, in my opinion, because we should do much better in some key moments, and we conceded some goals that we couldn’t concede, in my opinion, in important games.

“We are all putting our hands in together, as I said, the responsibility is not from the coach. Of course, the coach will receive all the responsibility because of the results, we know how it is in football, but sometimes it’s not easy to be a coach.

“But, like I said, the responsibility is also from the players, and, of course, some things need to improve. I think the main thing is that we recognise where we need to be better.”

Contrastingly, Spurs’ form in the Champions League has been excellent with six clean sheets, five wins and a fourth-placed finish from the eight-game group phase.

Spurs’ 2-0 win against Frankfurt in Germany sealed their spot in the round of 16 and Palhinha was asked about the differences between Spurs’ European and domestic form.

“We had some games that we won, especially at the start of the season against City, we had some really good games,” he answered. “But I think we miss sometimes the details, you know, and if we have a look at some of the losses that we had, I think it was about the details.

“I think the team always gives everything that we have, and that’s really important. 

“I know that for the supporters it’s not easy to digest this position on the table, I know how it’s frustrating for him [Thomas Frank] , but also for us, but we need to all give together and try to change the momentum now on Sunday against City.”

Tottenham face Manchester City at home in the Premier League this weekend, a tie that Spurs have had many positive results in previously.

The Portuguese international scored Spurs’ second in the reverse fixture when the north London side beat City 2-0 at the Etihad in August, and Palhinha spoke about whether the Spurs that performed in that match can come back under Frank.

“Yeah, it’s the Tottenham that we all wish for,” he said. ” We want to beat the top teams, and this is why I was saying to you we need to take this victory and this important qualification to give a big jump to everything that has passed in the last couple of months, and start a new phase.”