LONDON: Thomas Frank admitted Tottenham Hotspur supporters were right to boo after a 1-0 defeat by Bournemouth ended their unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
Frank had enjoyed impressive wins over Burnley and Manchester City in his first league games after narrowly losing the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
Hired from Brentford in the close-season to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou, Frank finally got his first taste of the woes that afflicted Tottenham last season as Bournemouth sealed a surprise win in north London.
The Cherries should have won by a greater margin and Tottenham did not have a shot of note until the 69th minute when Lucas Bergvall’s strike was saved by Djordje Petrovic.
That proved their only effort on target and Tottenham supporters showed their frustration with jeers at half-time and after the final whistle.
“I prefer them not to boo, but I understand,“ Frank said.
“It was not a good performance and they have high expectations, which is absolutely fair.”
“I don’t think we hit the level we should.”
“I think the players gave everything and then that’s the foundation and put the heart out there, but football wise we didn’t hit our top level today.”
Tottenham lacked creativity and with Champions League action due to begin next month, Frank’s squad still looks light on depth.
Asked if the loss showed there was work to do, Frank said: “Yeah, but it’s not about only making the squad the level.”
“It’s also for us to not manage, but play different games.”
“There’s one game against City, one kind of football, different kind of football against Burnley.”
“Bournemouth completely different third kind of football and all kinds of footballs you need to be able to perform against, and we struggled with it.”
Dutch forward Xavi Simons, with 22 goals and 24 assists in 78 appearances for RB Leipzig, is expected to make a difference after his signing this week.
“I think he can bring on a day where… sometimes you need a player that can do something a little bit out of nothing, go past the player, produce a cross, a shot, a pass, with that extra quality that you need on the day and that’s what I think he can bring,“ Frank said. – AFP
