Thomas Frank needs two things to thrive at Tottenham as players prove buy-in | OneFootball

Spurs showed fight against Liverpool - which will give beleaguered boss hope that improvement is on the way

Tottenham are set to end 2025 just as they started it. Winless, listless and aimless.

A change in manager has not contributed to a change in direction. Spurs, who endured a record-breaking 11th home defeat of the year against Liverpool last weekend, are sliding.

There were green shoots of growth in defeat to Liverpool, where, with 11, 10 and eventually nine men, Spurs battled admirably.

These, though, are small crumbs of comfort for a fan base that has rarely known it this bad despite ending a 17-year trophy drought in May.

Emotions are running high, as evidenced by the needless and naive dismissals of Xavi Simons and captain Cristian Romero last weekend, but Thomas Frank remains level-headed. His measure and poise are just about keeping him in a job.

“I think after watching the game back, I'm super happy with the first 30 minutes. That was really good, promising,” Frank said of his side’s performance against Liverpool.

How can you create consistent performances day in, day out? That's the thing we're working on every single day

Thomas Frank

In lieu of a tangible identity, there remains an energy and a youthful optimism to this side.

Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are committed, box-crashing midfielders, who Frank would do well to champion in the coming weeks, with Simons out for the next three games.

Inevitably overshadowed by the chaotic context of the game, there were positives in Spurs’ performance against Liverpool.

Channel the ferocity and intent of their opening 30 minutes against Liverpool, and they will cause problems for an increasingly tiring Crystal Palace side this weekend.

Consistency, though, is something Spurs have struggled with, not just under Frank, but across the whole of 2025. Just once have they managed to win three successive league games, and that came amidst back-to-back cup defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa.

Frank said: “I think I see a lot of good things we (can) improve, but we of course need to…It's all about how can we have even more consistency in performances.

“How can you create consistent performances day in, day out? That's the thing we're working on every single day.”

So what is the aim for Tottenham as we head into the new year? Something has to change, but where to start?

Well, a successful team is a harmonious team and a disciplined team. The fact Spurs are second bottom of the fair play table this season helps explain, to some degree, their erratic performances.

Thomas Frank

AFP via Getty Images

Frank is a man manager, who built a culture at Brentford that centred around a ‘no dickhead policy’. Eradicating egos and getting buy-in from players is undoubtedly easier at Brentford, where expectations are lower, but there is a young, hungry core at Spurs that can be moulded in Frank’s image.

“If you don't play with your emotions, don't play with passion, you don't play to win, then of course you also need to have a cool head,” he said recently.

This is the balance Frank is trying to strike. He is not trying to rip the passion out of his side. He would rather they were passionate than apathetic. However, there is a line, and one his captain Romero struggles to handle.

There are existential problems at Spurs with no easy answers. Frank is right, though, the only remedy for the club’s malaise is time and trust. Both of which are in increasingly short supply.

Pressure is mounting on Frank, but Spurs need to bite the bullet and place their faith in a manager who has always turned slow starts into something sustainable.

Short-term fixes and a scattergun approach have never supplied the short-term success Tottenham crave. They would be mindful to consider this before pulling the trigger on Frank. A new year calls for new resolutions.