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The Tottenham boss bumped into supporters from his current and former clubs ahead of the New Year's Day game at the Gtech Community Stadium
While enjoying lunch in London with his family, fate threw Tottenham boss Thomas Frank into the path of a rather apt couple ahead of the Dane's past and present clash on New Year's Day.
This afternoon Frank will make the short trip across the capital back to Brentford, where he spent almost nine years of his coaching career, seven of those as the Bees' head coach. Thursday's game brings the 52-year-old back to the Gtech Community Stadium with his Tottenham side and plenty to prove to his new fanbase while thanking the old one.
A win to kick off 2026 would lift 13th-placed Spurs above his old side, who sit ninth in the Premier League table, and begin to win over a section of the north London club's fanbase that holds doubts over the start to his tenure and the standard of football.
However, on Monday afternoon, while out for a meal with the rest of the Franks in Covent Garden, the Tottenham boss had a positive experience as he ran into two supporters who will sit on either side of Thursday's divide.
"I was in London yesterday and met a couple. One was a Brentford fan and the other, she was a Tottenham fan," said the Spurs boss. "The Brentford fan was very positive and said thank you for everything I had done at the club. I said, ‘You’re welcome, it’s not only about me, it’s everyone doing things together’.
"The Tottenham supporter said 'keep doing what you’re doing, you’re doing a top job, I love what you’re doing'. That was positive.
"I guess the ones who are not that positive are probably not brave enough to say it to my face. It's probably a little bit easier behind the keyboard, but the messages that I have are genuinely positive."
Frank is looking forward to stepping back inside a club where he achieved so much in taking them into the Premier League and building a side that consistently beat the big boys.
"There were many magical moments it was a privilege to be part of with fantastic people," said the Dane. "Of course the promotion is the stand-out achievement. Getting promoted to the best league in the world, for the first time in 74 years or something like that, that’s very unique.
"That is pure happiness in one day., So that’s special. It was also pretty nice to beat Arsenal 2-0 in the first game in the Premier League."
One day when he retires, Frank is planning to build a room of memories of his long spell at Brentford and what he hopes will be a similar time in north London.
"There are a lot of memories from those days, pictures and bits and pieces that one day, when I'm not in football anymore, I will create that special room in my home of the seven years I spent in Brentford and everything I achieved there, and then the seven years in Tottenham with everything I achieve here. That I'm looking forward to," he said.
Spurs will go into their first match of 2026 at Brentford without the suspended Xavi Simons but with captain Cristian Romero back from his own one-game ban. The Argentine is awaiting the result of an FA charge for not leaving the field in a prompt fashion following his red card against Liverpool.
Frank described Lucas Bergvall as a small doubt for the game at the Gtech Community Stadium but he has seen Dominic Solanke take his first steps back into training with the team this week following a long-term ankle problem which has kept the England international out of action since August.
Frank's final season at Brentford saw him having to operate without new signing Igor Thiago for all but eight matches after the striker struggled with a knee problem throughout the campaign. The Tottenham boss admitted that dealing without a striker who has now scored 12 goals in 19 matches this season for Brentford prepared him for life without Solanke at Spurs.
"Yeah, you could say that. I also think Yoane Wissa did well before that. The year before he did very well and then he continued playing," he said. "So even for the games when Igor Thiago was available, Wissa played because he was on fire. He ended up scoring 19 non-penalty goals. It’s an incredible achievement.
“What I knew was that I was convinced Igor would be a goalscorer for Brentford. I’m convinced by the way he is a personality, his mindset, but also his abilities and he’s proven that. I think Keith and the coaching staff have done a top job to make him perform in every aspect.
"It’s a little bit similar here. You could say Richy now has played more or less a lot of minutes and done well. He was this far away from scoring two goals against Crystal Palace, but on the flip side I’m also convinced that Solanke will score a lot of goals for us when he comes back."
Frank called the victory at Selhurst Park on Sunday a "beautiful ugly win" and he acknowledged that such matches are going to be key at times.
"I think it's so important. I think every good team needs to be able to do that and we are building something. I think it's also fair to say we are not where City or Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool are right now unfortunately. We really want to be there, but even them, they need ugly wins sometimes where they're winning 1-0," he said.
"How many times have Arsenal won 1-0 with a set-piece this season? So, we need to be able to do that, and I know it will be a very difficult team at Brentford. I am part of creating what I know I am facing. I know it will be very difficult at the Gtech. They have won six games, drawn two and lost one. They lost 1-0 to City.
"They have beaten Liverpool there, Newcastle, there, Man United there, recently 4-1 Bournemouth, so that is wow and if you don’t show respect to that, the three points are going, but we will be very respectful. We know what we are facing. We need to be extremely competitive and I know we will be."
Spurs top the Premier League's away form table but in 2026 Frank knows he must fix Tottenham's home struggles and show more of the club's motto in doing so.
"Let's start with the positive first. To be competitive away from home is a big part of a successful team. You need to be able to be competitive and get enough points on the road and that’s where we’ve shown a lot of resilience and character, defensive clean-sheet mentality, set pieces being good," he said.
"Then we know, at home, you need to dominate more. We need to do it, to dare is to do. We need to add even more layers, and that, I'm not in doubt of, will come, because one thing for sure, all the teams I’ve had scored a lot of goals and I create one top scorer after another, year in, year out. That will also happen here. We just need some of the guys that are natural top scorers to be fit and available."
So will Spurs fans have to shelve their hopes of 'to dare is to do' football until Frank's team is truly up and running?
"No, I don't think so, because it's not like it's from zero to 100. There's still, let's say, elements where we have shown very good offensive football, but it's just not been as consistent as where we want it to be," said the Dane. "And also a little bit understanding of where we are at the moment. We are, I will keep repeating it, on a journey where we need to improve a lot of stuff.
"Where we finished 17th last year, played Europa League and won it, fantastic. Now we're playing Champions League - a step up - and we are trying to compete in the league with quite a few of the key players out. That's the fact.
"But the fact is also we need to win, and we need to play, we need to do everything we can to win with what we have available right now, but constantly improve the team to make sure we play better offensively."
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