Frank’s future in doubt as Romero calls West Ham defeat ‘a disaster’ for Spurs

Thomas Frank’s future as the Tottenham manager is in doubt after Saturday’s last-gasp 2-1 home defeat by West Ham, at which the club’s supporters called for him to be “sacked in the morning”.

The Spurs hierarchy have been mindful of the difficulties Frank has faced during what was always likely to be a transitional season. The chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, wrote an open letter to fans on Saturday morning, the tone of which was supportive, the overriding message being a call for patience.

But the drama of the West Ham game, when Spurs fell to a stoppage-time winner from the substitute Callum Wilson, has led the club to wonder whether they can persist with Frank.

The mood inside the stadium was toxic, with fans booing at various points of the game, including half-time and full-time. They jeered Frank for his decision to substitute the winger Mathys Tel in the 62nd minute as they trailed 1-0, although Cristian Romero equalised straight after that. The “sacked in the morning” chant followed Wilson’s winner.

Romero pulled no punches with his post-match assessment. “At this moment this is a disaster for us,” he said. “We played sometimes good, sometimes bad. We must work hard and go again. It’s a difficult moment for us. We are not the best on the pitch.”

Spurs brought the former Ajax manager John Heitinga on to Frank’s coaching staff this week to replace the assistant Matt Wells, who left before Christmas to become the head coach at the Colorado Rapids. Frank said he had driven the appointment, despite the suggestion that Heitinga could potentially replace him on a caretaker basis if results did not improve.

Frank said after the West Ham game that he retained the faith of the hierarchy and would turn around what he described as a “supertanker” of a club. He did not sugar-coat the blow but said he had taken heart from Venkatesham’s letter. The defeat kept Spurs 14th in the Premier League. Frank’s team have won just three of their past 15 matches in the competition.

“I have seen the letter and I took six to eight positive things out of it,” Frank said. “What I take out of that letter is that we are a club and an executive team with Vinai on top that are aligned and know this is a big transitional phase.

“It’s a supertanker we’re turning in the right direction and there are a lot of good signs behind the scenes and also in some of the performances. But, of course, when you lose last-minute to one of your rivals, it is very emotional and there will be noise. That noise we need to keep out there and get our head down and keep walking, keep doing the right thing.

“Of course, I’ve probably had better times. But I understand [the chant]. I’m the man in charge. So the blame will go to me. That’s fair, no problem in that sense. If you’re not winning enough, we know you will not get enough support from the fans. But when we’re winning, it will change … when we start winning again. Which we will do. I’m not in doubt of that.

“It seems to be the perfect storm at the moment in many ways. We have a last-minute defeat when everyone feels that everyone has given everything, including the fans, to back the team. You get a sucker punch in injury time and it’s unbelievably tough to take. You have to keep going. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”

After Romero’s goal, it looked as though Spurs might go on to win. But Frank was left to lament the biggest single failing of his tenure – the lack of cutting edge from the attacking players.

“It’s a sign that the goal is scored by Cuti, our captain and centre-back,” he said. “And we didn’t have enough chances or the cutting edge from the offensive players. That, of course, is no criticism, it’s just reality. We didn’t have the cutting edge, the perfect weighted pass, the sharp finish. We need to keep working on that.”

Frank did say the players were still fighting, despite three defeats in a row. “Let’s say the previous two games – against Bournemouth in the league and Aston Villa in the FA Cup – and now the game here. If the players stop running or stop doing anything or are not working hard and we are not the team that’s closest to winning … then you can say: ‘OK’. But the team is working very hard. And I still think, and I know it sounds a little bit crazy, that we are closer to something very good, than further away.”