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Guglielmo Vicario and Ben Davies have both spoken about the changes Thomas Frank has instilled at Tottenham Hotspur since taking over.
The two experienced Spurs players were speaking to the media on Tuesday ahead of the UEFA Super Cup clash against PSG in Udine. Tottenham's Europa League triumph under Ange Postecoglou gave them the chance to take on the Parisian Champions League winners in the showpiece game in France.
Both Vicario and Davies were asked in their press conference at the Stadio Friuli about what different things the Dane has brought to the north London club.
Here's everything both players said in Udine, the town where the Tottenham goalkeeper grew up, to the reporters ahead of the big European night. First up is the Italian stopper, followed by the Welsh defender as they spoke about Frank, the changes at the club and the considerable test of facing PSG.
Guglielmo Vicario
What's it like to be playing at home?
Personally, it will be an emotional day but as soon as we get close to kick-off emotions have to stay away and we have to be focused on what we have to deliver on the pitch. It will be an amazing game and we need to be ready to win.
Of course, for my team I am one of the oldest players in the dressing room so now is the moment to step up. The moment to take some responsibilities. I see a group of lads who are really ready to fight and commit. I don’t want to give them advice but we have to try to be the best version possible of ourselves. We need to start tomorrow. Together we can achieve great things.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, is it a good thing that he's out?
Of course I knew about him and he is not in the squad. He is my captain of the national team and I have good feelings and a good relationship with him. It is up to him and his club to find the best way possible for his future and I wish him all the best.
Can you push on now as the team knows what it takes to win a trophy.
Of course we have set the tone and we want to repeat and to do it again. We have tasted the feeling and this feeling is amazing so we want to do it again and we have the opportunity tomorrow again with another European final. We are there because we have earned the right to be there and to play against PSG. Of course we want to do it. In football and sports, it is all about winning and losing. Sometimes it is hard to properly find the right way to win but it is up to us to believe and we have to do it together and follow the manager’s instructions. We believe in Thomas and how we can improve as a collective. We can set the tone again if we want to be successful.
Has there been a change with your kicking now that Thomas Frank is in charge?
Yeah something has changed, I really need to look to read the situation that presents in front of me, sometimes it is time to build from the back and play, sometimes it’s to go long. It’s kind of a different approach to what I was used to over the last two seasons but the important thing is it’s useful for the team and to achieve a good result if I can impact in this way.
Ben Davies
With Son leaving, have you noticed the other experienced players stepping up to fill the leadership void?
Over the summer we lost Sonny and he was a big part of the dressing room and obviously a huge player for us on the pitch and we are definitely going to feel his loss but ultimately the senior guys in this team have to be here to support everyone and we have to try and make sure we allow everyone to stand up and show the players they are the person they are. We have a good group and we are prepared for anything.
How tough is it going to be against PSG?
It is quite clear we are playing one of the best teams in world football. They have so much talent all across the pitch. It is definitely going to be a challenge but over the summer we saw once they played some incredible games they care not invincible and not unbeatable. We can take some confidence from that and try our best to win the game.
With Thomas Frank - how different is he to previous managers?
He has come in and brought a lot of energy. It could not have been an easy time to come into the club after last season but the boys have really enjoyed working under him and he has come in and put in some good training sessions on and we have worked a lot on the team structure. The little details are around the game that we can improve. So far it has been really exciting and we hope the work we have put in will pay dividends.
Does that trophy winning feeling push the team on now?
I think what Vic said is right, once you get that initial feeling you really do have that desire and hunger in this group that wants to do it again. We had our time of enjoying the result from last year but everyone’s focus this season is that we are in a number of competitions, there are trophies at stake and it starts tomorrow night.
Will a Thomas Frank team be more cautious tomorrow or tactically flexible?
I’m not necessarily sure cautious is the right word but I think we're definitely going to have a different game plan depending on the opposition this season and that starts tomorrow. I’m not going to tell you what our plan is for the game but we feel like we’re prepared to put our best foot forward and put the best performance out there to beat PSG. We’ve put the work in so we hope it pays off.
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