THOMAS Frank admitted he had no instant solution for Tottenham’s miserable home record after they crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Frank’s side took the lead through Rodrigo Bentancur in the fifth minute in north London.
But once again they failed to build on a strong start as Morgan Rogers struck with a superb strike for his first goal in 20 matches to haul Villa level before half-time.
Villa substitute Emiliano Buendia curled into the far corner in the 77th minute to leave Tottenham with 11 defeats and only three wins from their last 18 Premier League games on home turf.
Frank, hired from Brentford in the close-season, has overseen two defeats in his first four league fixtures at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, adding to the club’s dismal record there under his predecessor Ange Postecoglou last term.
Asked if he could explain that poor form, Frank said he hoped he could but noted it might not be that simple.
He described the game as a clear draw that Tottenham could have easily won instead of Villa, which would have created a different narrative.
Frank stated he would look at the performance on the pitch, where he felt they did well, and examine the bits they need to improve.
Frank lost captain Cristian Romero in the pre-match warm-up to an adductor issue and Mathys Tel finished with his knee wrapped in a heavy bandage as the pair joined Tottenham’s long injury list.
Villa’s fifth consecutive victory ended Tottenham’s seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
But Frank refused to condemn his players after their latest flop in front of their own fans.
The Dane said he thought they performed quite well, though maybe not through the roof.
He noted they gave away only eight shots, with not even a cross more or less, a very low expected goals against, and that goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario did not have a save to make.
Frank stated that if told before the game Villa would shoot from the positions Rogers and Buendia did, he would have said it was not dangerous, but he credited fantastic quality shots from both players.
He concluded that in those very little moments, Villa had more quality in the end. – AFP
