Every word Thomas Frank said in 644-word passionate response to Tottenham chants and boos

Here's every single word the Tottenham Hotspur boss said on Friday ahead of the Premier League match against Sunderland

Thomas Frank faced a grilling at his press conference on Friday ahead of Tottenham's Premier League match against Sunderland on Sunday.

The Spurs boss oversaw a dull 0-0 draw at his old side Brentford on Thursday night, which ended with him being booed by the travelling Tottenham supporters as he approached them after the game. Those fans had also sung throughout the night about 'boring, boring Tottenham' as well as chants for Brennan Johnson, with last season's top scorer tying up a £35million move to Crystal Palace after being told he was surplus to requirements.

Frank was asked in his latest press conference about both topics, as well as the January transfer window and the latest injury news on Lucas Bergvall and Dominic Solanke.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank at Hotspur Way. Here's the full transcript from the press conference.

You can go ahead and announce Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace now....

Nice opening, there is probably something about the rumours, but that is the only thing I can say right now.

There are rumours he could be involved for Palace against Newcastle this weekend?

That I know nothing about and basically don't care about. So, like with everything, I'm very happy to speak about everything when everything is announced or published. If that is we sign a player, we sell a player or staff member in or out or whatever it is. But for now, yeah, it is what it is.

Is he in the Spurs squad to face Sunderland?

He was not in the squad yesterday, and you will see that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

You tried to sign Johnson at Brentford, what has changed that means you now might sell him?

I would say, I'll repeat my answer as I just said. If that's the case, I would love to answer that question when and if it happens.

How do 'boring, boring Tottenham' chants make you feel?

I definitely got some reminders about it, including one today. So thank you for that. It's not perfect. We want us to be free flowing. I think a couple of things I want to reinforce positively is the last two away performances.To stand on the foundation we were building was very strong against Crystal Palace and Brentford. I think we were very good defensively, actually fantastic defensively last night. Gave them more or less nothing. I think that's hugely important. I think we understood how to close down their transitions.

Then we're working very hard and understand the frustration, I share them too, very hard on the offensive part of the game. There's a few things in that we need to do our best to improve. One of them is, for example, yesterday we lost the ball unforced errors 25 times. I showed those 25 clips to the players today. Just short, a reminder that that's focus, that's concentration, all that.Of course, football is a game of mistakes. You lose the ball, so that can happen because of bad decisions, bad touch, whatever, or concentration. So, could just half of them be better? That will provide us more attacks. And there was definitely maybe five at least good counter-attacks, where a better touch, then we are suddenly 3v3. Then it looks a little bit more lively, a little bit more open, a little bit better. So that's the one level we need to do.Then the next bit is the patterns and the structure and getting in the right positions. We didn't get that right last night. I showed that again to the players today. That is my responsibility, together with the coaches. I always take that. And then the third thing. I think it's also okay to mention that we still lack some very important offensive players that’s been out for a while.

I don't want to mention it again. I'm getting a little bit bored, very bored, and sick and tired of naming them. And on top of that, we didn't have Xavi Simons for various reasons, or Lucas Bergvall. So, the ones on the pitch, always trust them, always believe in them.I think Wilson (Odobert), I've said it many times, is a very promising player that I believe a lot in. He looked so lively against Crystal Palace, but also natural with a young player, (that) he was a little bit up and down yesterday.I'm convinced he'll be very good for us. And then on top of that, you play every game, every third and fourth game. And when you do that, the ability with the concentration level and the physical level to be on the top, to keep producing, is what, how can you say, splits the good players from the very best to do that.And sometimes you can be a good player to go to the very best, but you also learn along the way. So that's where we are right now. It's unfortunately very boring, but that's the fact.

We need to do everything we can to put an attacking, intense, front-footed performance out against Sunderland in two days' time. I'll do everything I can to make sure we do that. And if we do that and get three points, it's seven from three, which would be a very good output.So that's the aim. By the way, against a Sunderland team that’s done unbelievably well. And I know for a fact, because when I say attitude, I'm confident in my own skill set. I'm also very humble about who I am, where we are, and what we need to do. And I know what we're facing tomorrow against Sunderland, because I've been there myself. That's going to be tough, but we need to be on it. That was a long answer, actually.

Is it also a long answer because you were hurt?

No, No. It's a long answer because I'm explaining the situation where we are.

To dare is to do, do you need to be more daring?

I think I'm very daring. I'm sitting here.

Enzo Maresca is the latest managerial casualty, you said you were at an interview for that very job. Was that a close shave, a lucky escape for you?

I think we don't know what happened behind the scenes. At Chelsea, it's your guys' job to be clever there and come with good suggestions to why he's not there anymore. So, yeah, we don't know that. I think there can be very good reasons for it. There can be bad reasons. Who knows?

And basically, I don't care. I have other things to worry about. The one thing I would say is it's difficult to build something sustainable, successful, if you don't keep key persons in the job for a long time. I've said that many times. All the top examples of clubs being successful year in, year out, they had the head coach, the CEO, the sports directors, the key members, coaching staff in the club for a long time.

How do you give your players confidence, to not be afraid, not be hesitant to take the game to Sunderland at on Sunday?

We, of course, keep reinforcing the messages, keep trying to do the right thing, keep trying to be brave, try to go forward. I think that's the key thing. And then understand that this Premier League is unbelievably tight. And when it's tight, it's not like it's that easy, but the main thing is that we keep being brave.

The fact Sunderland have signed so many players, they had an overhaul, how difficult will it be?

I think [Regis Le Bris] has done fantastically. Very, very impressive. The first season in the Premier League, and also, as you say, with changing a lot of players. It's been very clear what they want to do. They understand that when you go up in the Premier League, you need to defend very well. They're very good on set-pieces. They're very good.

They fight, they run, and now they've got the confidence and done very well against a lot of teams, but also away from home. So it's going to be a tough test.

With Dominic Solanke, are we looking at mid-January or late January?

The thing I need to open up about, of course, is when he's out there on the pitch with pictures, then that's positive, of course. But to say mid-Jan or end of Jan or 25th of Jan, I will not do that. I will very much look forward to name the date when he's involved in the squad.

Any other players coming back?

Lucas Bergvall is a doubt. We hope he'll be ready.

In the transfer window, how difficult is it for a manager to tell a player that's heading out the door and they have to go to a new club?

I think there are different scenarios. There are players that want to leave, there are players that are a little bit like, hmm, do they want to stay or do they want to leave? And then there are players that don't want to leave. And that is the three different cases you need to solve between the sports directors, head coach, player and agent. And hopefully in the most cases, everyone is happy in the end of the situation.

We spoke a little bit about the bench last night, two goalkeepers, not a lot of options, does that show how difficult it is for you right now with the unavailable players but also how this transfer window has to be done right to get in players that can improve things?

Yeah, I think again, it's my job, my responsibility to find solutions when there's tough times. I will never run away from that. But of course, it's easier to have a fully fit squad and you just know, OK, I have these five tools, I can do this in the midfield, I can do that on the wing, I can do that on the striker, maybe whatever, change the full-back, whatever it is. And yes, we were limited last night, but that's part of it.

There are some games you will have like that in a season and you need to do those spells, and I think that's another thing, those spells, I know it's not popular to talk about, but those spells, if you then don't lose and you get a point and you're very solid defensively, that's a good thing. That can be a very good point in the end of the season.

Do we want to play better? Yes. But that's unfortunately the situation right now.

What made you pick two goalkeepers on the bench rather than maybe another young player like Callum Olusesi?

That could also have been the case. It wasn't last night.

On Wilson Odobert, there's so much raw potential and talent in there, but then there'll be moments in games where maybe he's not as strong, like last night we saw 35-year-old Jordan Henderson outpacing him, which shouldn't probably happen...

With all due respect to Jordan, yeah.

Of course, but he shouldn't be outpacing Wilson. What does he have to work on and develop to become the player that he can be?

I think take the positive away from the Crystal Palace substitution role, where he was so lively and they couldn't catch him and should have scored at least a goal. And then last night, I think there was still some very positive glimpses. And I think he is in the situation where he takes a little bit better decision when there's, let's say, three times the touch, because even if he's taken it, that will just get him in a top position as soon as it's turned and we're three vs three, instead of it's a bad touch and then we go the other way, for example.

So just keep learning that. That's just a normal part of football. Unfortunately, there's a little bit of extra focus in the Premier League, but hey, that's part of it.

Can you be successful at Tottenham without the fans behind you?

Erm, I will try to maybe turn that question around to say that if you are successful, the Tottenham fans will be behind you. So, the fans will get behind us and I am pretty sure that yes I am booed last night but I am pretty sure there is a lot of fans behind us.

When you think you’ve had two London derbies away, got 4 points, two clean sheets, on paper that looks like progress but at the end they are booing yourself and chanting boring, boring Tottenham, is there a misalignment here with what you see as success in terms of results and the style of football the fans need to see but they’re not seeing yet?

Yeah, but I think expectation is good and I also think we are probably in a bit of a transition. Not that we don’t want to play a lot better but the club, the squad, the injuries, all that taken into consideration is part of that. And in a transition period when not everything is perfect and you don’t get the won or we don’t play as good as we want or I want… I’m very aware that Crystal Palace win and happy with it because it’s very important to have the ability to do that, but also very aware that we didn’t play as good as I want in that aspect. Also I acknowledge where we are, so it's just that understanding of that. It is fair that I understand it a little bit better and the fans want more.

Fans are struggling with what the plan is under yourself and long-term. I know you said to compete in all competitions, but what would be success this season and next season and so on?

What I'm 100 per cent sure will happen is that I know we will be able to score a lot of goals and I know we will be much more dominant in a lot of games, but with the current situation with too many of the top players out, playing a lot of games, that just make it more tricky, also with no time to train, it’s just reality. I think there's not one coach that will not say that and then we need to manage everything between that.

That is just small steps in the right direction every day and keep walking forward, keep improving and then things will take care of itself. Probably answer a few more questions in press conference like this, improve a little bit, get the wins and then it will be forgotten because it goes like this (click). Right now it's the talk of the town, fair enough. Tomorrow will be forgotten, it will be a new thing and we just behind the scenes need to be calm and work on the things very hard and keep improving.

Would top-half be a success, would 12th or do you have to be in Europe?

“I think for me to name a position where we should end or want to end, I think there's so many things you don't control in that aspect. I promise that we are very ambitious, we know exactly where we want to go, but I think it's about improving next step in front of me, make sure that we come up flying Sunday against Sunderland, look more in-sync. I think reality is it will not be perfect, but can we see good glimpses of more offensive attacking threat and get the win, that would be a step forward.