Thomas Frank fired by Tottenham as standout replacement candidate identified

Thomas Frank said he was '1000% sure' he was the right man for Tottenham just hours before the club fired him after eight months in charge

Thomas Frank has been fired by Tottenham(Image: Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)

Tottenham has given manager Thomas Frank his marching orders after a mere eight months at the helm. A home defeat to Newcastle was the final straw, with the club teetering dangerously close to the Premier League relegation zone.

Frank took over at the start of the season, stepping into the shoes of Ange Postecoglou, who was dismissed despite breaking Spurs' long-standing trophy drought by clinching the Europa League. However, Frank has found it tough to make his mark in the dugout, with fans growing increasingly disgruntled with the ex-Brentford boss.

Despite securing a spot in the Champions League knockout stages, supporters have repeatedly called for the manager's dismissal. Frank was one of those who showed his support for Arne Slot amid speculation over his own future.

Their Premier League performance, however, has been dire. Spurs haven't tasted victory in their last eight league matches and haven't celebrated a home win in the Premier League since early December.

This poor run of form has left Spurs a mere five points clear of the relegation zone, with the bottom three teams closing in following their 2-1 home loss to Newcastle. This has prompted immediate action from the Spurs hierarchy.

Contingency plans are now being implemented to appoint a replacement and help ward off the ever-increasing threat of a catastrophic relegation to the Championship. Spurs' hunt for Frank's successor will now commence, with former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi the standout candidate following his departure from French side Marseille.

Frank's departure comes just hours after he voiced confidence about his position despite mounting pressure. When asked if he would be in charge for Spurs' next fixture against North London rivals Arsenal, he said: "Yeah, I'm convinced I will be. I understand the question and I understand it's easy to point on me but I also think it's never only the head coach or the ownership or the directors or the players or the staff.

Spurs are languishing towards the bottom of the table(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

"It's everyone. If you do something right, you build something that can last. Of course we are not in a top position now.

"Everyone knows, directors, ownership, myself, what position we are in, what we need to improve and what we need to do better. That is what we are working very hard on."

When asked if he still considers himself the right person to lead the club, Frank responded: "1000 percent sure. I am also 1000 percent sure that I never expected us to be in a situation like this with 11 or 12 injuries on the back end of this and what we've been facing, but I know when you need to build something and need to get through things, you need to show unbelievable strong resilience.

""I think it is fair to say there are a few before me up here not only for Tottenham but in many other clubs that have lost their head many times and I think you need to have a calm head, carry on, keep fighting and keep doing the right thing, make sure we stick together because we can only do this if we stick together.

"That is the board, that is the leaders, that is the players, that is the staff, that is me and that is the fans. We've got to get through this."