Tottenham: Thomas Frank has one main priority against PSG after Cristian Romero 'style' warning | OneFootball

Champions League showdown has added significance after Arsenal humbling

"I don't read anything, no articles, no social media, so I don't know if there was a fall out," he declared.

Frank, though, is a smart man. He could take a guess at what Spurs fans might have thought of that performance and he will be aware of where his side are falling short.

Spurs were thrashed 4-1 by Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday

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He has also had enough feedback this season to know there have been frustrations at the style of play. Several home matches have ended in boos and, on Sunday, Frank and his players trudged over after the game to applaud a largely empty away end at the Emirates.

Spurs now face Paris Saint-Germain tonight in what in many ways feels like the least important match of the week.

Fulham visit north London on Saturday and that is now a pivotal game for Frank. Anything other than a win, and a convincing one at that, and even he will struggle to shield himself from the fall out.

There is less jeopardy in the Champions League, where Spurs have already picked up eight points from their first four matches. Another three, maybe four points will be enough to secure a place in the knockout play-off round.

Frank's side will need to double their current tally at the very least to finish in the top eight and go straight through to the last 16, and any kind of result against PSG would be a big boost towards that.

However, that is not the most pressing priority. This is a match where the performance will do more to shape the mood around Spurs than the result.

A 3-1 defeat where Spurs have a go at PSG, create chances, but ultimately come up short against superior opposition would be more beneficial in the long run than a 0-0 park-the-bus job.

Frank needs a performance to lift the mood among supporter

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The Frank project will not be defined by a result against PSG. It will be defined by whether Spurs start showing some attacking cohesion.

Of the five lowest xG totals registered in the Premier League this season, Spurs are responsible for three of them.

They were superb with their backs to the wall in the UEFA Super Cup against PSG in August, having only 25 per cent of the ball but holding a 2-0 lead until the final five minutes.

That kind of performance was fine in Frank's first competitive match but it would be a concern if Spurs had not progressed to something more ambitious three months on.

The fans need to see that progress but so too the players. There are only so many times they can be sent out to spoil and disrupt rather than create. Too often this season Frank's approach has effectively told his players they should fear the opposition.

That cannot be much fun and it is not sustainable. Cristian Romero was outspoken in not enjoying the mood at Spurs created by Antonio Conte's style of play and hailed Ange Postecoglou's more aggressive approach.

Spurs captain Cristian Romero was outspoken about the style of play under Antonio Conte

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"It's a playing style Tottenham always had," Romero said in 2023. "It's about taking more risks, trying to control games."

Again, a year later, the now Spurs captain said: "We play in an entertaining style and we’re all very happy with the way the manager sets us up and play."

If Romero, a centre-back, does not enjoy sitting back and containing, the forward players certainly won't.

There should be no such thing as a free hit at a club like Spurs but there are matches where defeats will be begrudgingly accepted by fans.

This is one of them, but only if Frank and his players show some intent.