Thomas Frank says Brighton players were ‘afraid’ of one Tottenham attacker

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Thomas Frank has hailed the performance of one Tottenham player who was making his first start of the season against the Seagulls.

With Frank, Tottenham Hotspur fans have already come to expect surprises in the starting eleven, and that was the case again on Saturday.

Spurs’ left side had Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert, both of whom were making their first starts of the season.

The pair combined well down the left, which is where most of Tottenham’s attacks came from, especially in the first period, and Frank was pleased with what he saw from the Frenchman.

Thomas Frank assesses Wilson Odobert’s Tottenham performance

Odobert was linked with a move away from Tottenham in the summer, but Frank decided to keep him at the club, and he gave the 20-year-old an opportunity to impress at the Amex Stadium.

The Spurs head coach confessed that he was happy with what he saw from the former Burnley man, claiming that Brighton were afraid to get tight to him.

When asked what he thought of Odobert’s performance, Frank said (via Football.London): “Happy with it, I must admit. I thought he looked lively. Clearly, it looked like they were a little bit afraid of him.

“So he got time to turn and run forward. I think he produced some crosses, some good opportunities. He was also involved in a goal, worked hard. So, a good first start.”

Frank enjoyed Tottenham’s performance despite the lack of control

So far at Tottenham, Frank has repeatedly emphasised defensive control and has prioritised keeping clean sheets.

The game at the Amex Stadium was thus not typical of what one sees from a Frank side, but the Tottenham boss was delighted with the aggression that his players showed.

When asked if he enjoyed the end-to-end nature of the game, the 51-year-old responded: “I think you always want to control if you can. But I liked how aggressive we were and there were some very good opportunities going forward. And I liked that we looked very dangerous. That I liked a lot, I must admit.”