Thomas Frank has pledged to build on Ange Postecoglou's Europa League triumph and turn Tottenham into “serial winners”. The new head coach, who has joined from Brentford on a three-year contract, described Postecoglou as a “legend” after the Australian ended the club’s 17-year trophy drought with victory over Manchester United in Bilbao on 21 May. That success, however, was not enough to save Postecoglou from dismissal following a dismal Premier League campaign.
In his first interview since taking the role, Frank acknowledged the foundations laid by his predecessor. “Huge congratulations to the club, to the team … huge congratulations to Ange,” he said. “He will for ever be a legend at Tottenham. It’s very important to understand that we all stand on the shoulders of others so I am going in on the foundations that Ange has built. I’m very humble about that and I’ll do my very best to continue the great work he put in.”
Frank spoke of the joy among fans after the Europa League win and expressed a desire to create more such memories. “Hopefully we can create more of those moments. That would be the ultimate dream to do that and build on that. Hey, no one can say they are not winners; the team and the players are winners. Now we need to do [our] best … to see whether we can be serial winners in the future.”
He also outlined his attacking philosophy, saying: “The intention is to play aggressive, front-footed football. I know the ethos and the history of the club is massive on attacking football and there is so much attacking talent in the squad.” Frank stressed the need to take risks, adding: “If you don’t take risks, you also take risks. So it’s important we take risks. Risk is you need to play forward. If you don’t risk the ball, you can’t create things. We need to be brave.”
His comments came after chairman Daniel Levy stated the club’s ambition to win the Premier League and Champions League. Spurs’ Europa League success has secured their return to Europe’s top competition, and Frank made clear that his non-negotiables are effort and bravery. “For me, if they lose the ball by trying, it’s never a problem. But if they don’t work hard? I struggle more with that. That’s my non-negotiable. We need to take risks. If we don’t take risks, it’s impossible to achieve something big.”
