Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Tottenham Hotspur Press Conference - Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre, London, Britain - January 19, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs
LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The problems continue to mount for embattled Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank with the Dane having only 11 outfield players available for Tuesday's crucial Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, but he says he will keep fighting.
Frank was mocked by his own fans at the end of Tottenham's 2-1 defeat by West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday, with hundreds of them chanting 'sacked in the morning'.
Despite what he describes as a 'media circus' around his future at the London club, Frank insists he still has the backing of the club's hierarchy and can win over the fans.
"If your back is against the wall, you fight. I am energetic and I fight. It is not about me, we need to win football matches and we need to do that together," Frank, who said he had lunch with CEO Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange, told reporters after training on Monday.
"The three biggest things in showing resilience is having good values and I believe I am a guy that has good values. Second is you know reality and the reality is that one in five people don't like you no matter what you do and one in five love you no matter what you do -- both sides are probably biased.
"And then there is the three and five, if you behave well, are respectful and show integrity then you are sweet. The reality is not everyone will like you."
Despite woeful domestic form, Tottenham are 11th in the Champions League standings with two games left and victory on Tuesday would give them a great chance to finish in the top eight and qualify automatically for the last 16.
However, injuries to the likes of Richarlison, Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Ben Davies and James Maddison and Micky van de Ven's suspension have left Frank down to the bare bones.
"We have 11 players available and we probably have three players that need to push massively to get through 90 minutes," Frank said.
Another complication means Mathys Tel has been removed from the Champions League squad to allow fit-again striker Dominic Solanke to return. "It never rains but it pours," Frank, whose side have a 100% record at home in the Champions League, said.
"I made the decision (about Tel). It was not a nice decision to have to make but unfortunately that is football. The way the rules are, the only option was Dom or Mathys and I chose Dom."
Frank has won only 11 of his first 32 games in charge with his 34% win ratio markedly worse than that of the man he replaced Ange Postecoglou (47%) and other recent Tottenham managers Antonio Conte (54%), Nuno Espirito Santo (53%), Jose Mourinho (52%) and Mauricio Pochettino (55%).
Speculation has been rife that the sack is imminent, but Frank was calm and composed on Monday.
"Football is very simple but also a little bit complex. There are many moving parts," he said.
"I think it is about keeping the noise out, staying calm, carrying on, looking at the performances. Are the players still running? They are running hard.
"There are a lot of signs that this is going the right way. We still need to find a way to get over the line and I think we are much closer than we think.
"Even the best manager in the world, Pep Guardiola, says 'I am nothing without my players' and it is fair to say they haven't been available enough the whole time."
(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Christian Radnedge)
