Thomas Frank thinks Tottenham are gradually improving in one key attacking area

2 hours ago 32

Thomas Frank has offered insight into one of the key attacking shortcomings in his Tottenham side, as scrutiny continues over their ability to play on the front foot.

Thomas Frank’s team have rarely played on the front foot so far during his time in north London, as he often sets up in a pragmatic way rather than an expansive attacking style.

Spurs supporters are not oblivious to that reality, with many quick to voice their frustration after below-par performances, as boos have regularly rung around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following poor displays.

The underlying numbers also reflect that trend, with Spurs ranking among the lowest sides in the league for through balls and runs from deep.

Thomas Frank has now explained the work being done behind the scenes to address those attacking issues, specifically focusing on movement in behind and the use of data to drive improvement.

Thomas Frank on runs from deep and attacking patterns at Tottenham

Speaking to football.london before the West Ham defeat, the Tottenham head coach outlined how detailed analysis and statistics have shaped his approach in training and match preparation.

He said: “We of course analyse every single game, looking with my own eyes and with the whole team behind it in what we would like to achieve, and then sometimes you need the stats as well because you get some stats, for example, the deep run stats. We were bottom of that in the league and that is a key thing.

“You need to run in behind if you want to score goals. That was a little bit down to player types. That is a little down to training to enforce the message.

“And since that, the last seven or eight games, something like that, we gradually improved it more and more. So we have much more deep runs, from being very low we are gradually moving up that table.

“So that is a key theme for us, that we keep doing that. Because if you run in behind and you play behind, you will score goals, and that is not necessarily a 60-yard pass, that can be a 10-yard pass. So that is the big, big thing. That is a way to use the stats.”

However, there are rumours now circulating that Tottenham are weighing up a manager change, meaning Thomas Frank may not be given the chance to implement these plans.

Thomas Frank names four Spurs players he needs to step up in attack

Frank also touched on the importance of continued work with his attacking players, stressing consistency and decision-making as key areas of focus.

He explained how confidence and repetition remain central to that process. Frank added: “Then of course it is to keep working with our young players in Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, to make them be more consistent, taking more of the right decisions.

“Kolo Muani, I thought he scored a great goal, unfortunately he was half a yard offside against Villa.

“Hopefully, that gives him a little bit of confidence. Worked very hard on that. Xavi, I think looks better and better. The way he took the game in the second half against Villa, I liked that.

“So those are the four you can say right now we are relying on. And I think Mathys, there are great signs. I think now Wilson scored, hopefully Kolo next, so that hopefully helps in that sense and then Dom is coming back.”