Frank praises Spurs’ tribute to Son as Tottenham sweep aside Slavia Prague | OneFootball

Tottenham brushed past Slavia Prague with a comfortable 3–0 win, lifting the North London side to ninth in their Champions League group phase.

Manager Thomas Frank expressed his satisfaction with the performance and was especially pleased to see club legend Heung-min Son return, as Spurs paid tribute to their former captain.

“Yeah, it was good to see him,” said Frank. “I mainly saw him straight after the game here. I’m happy that the reception, a well-deserved reception, he got, a Tottenham legend, a true Tottenham legend, coming back home. I was very happy, it was good to see him. He seems happy and settled in.”

Building momentum from the Brentford game was always key, and the performance showed Frank what he wanted to see.

“I was thrilled that we built on the momentum from the Brentford game. Both home, but in general, just in terms of performance, I think there were more offensive, positive notes to take from the game as well – positive individual performances, but also the team just gelling a little bit more and more together in a tricky game against an opponent that is not easy to play against.

“Slavia Prague, big respect for them. The man-man physical pressure, but we got the job done and got three points, so that was good.”

Xavi Simons impressed once again against Prague, contributing a goal and an assist, and Frank praised the midfielder’s performance as he continues to grow in confidence.

“I think he built on the good game on Saturday, produced again, I would say. Good link-up play, nice turns in the middle of the pitch, where he also got that acceleration to go past the player and open up the spaces.

“I also like his work ethic. For example, there was a great recovery run in 90-plus minutes where he just got all the way back, which is crucial for me, for us, for everyone, to work very hard. So, I like his overall performance.”

Building on these two performances is a key indicator of where Frank’s project currently stands, with a challenging trip to Nottingham Forest ahead before Spurs return home to face Liverpool.

 “Yeah, of course, we can build that momentum,” said the manager. “I think we played a good game overall against Newcastle. I think we played two good home games. I think the extremely positive thing about this season is that we’ve been so good away from home, which I think is incredible.

“To be very good away from home, that’s a huge skill set, so hopefully we can build on that. As a team and a manager, we respect a lot who we face on Sunday, but right now it’s everything about recovery, and then we’ll make sure we have a good plan for Sunday afterwards.”