Thomas Frank expressed his ambition to elevate Tottenham Hotspur during his inaugural press conference as the club's manager on Friday.
The 51-year-old Dane transitioned from Brentford following the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou, who led Spurs to their first major trophy in 17 years by securing the Europa League, but also oversaw the team's worst top-flight performance since the 1976/77 season.
While Frank conveyed optimism about improving Tottenham’s disappointing 17th place finish in the Premier League, which included 22 defeats in 38 matches, he refrained from making any commitments regarding the future of Son Heung-min and was cautious about the club's interest in Morgan Gibbs-White.
He did confirm that club captain Son and vice-captain Cristian Romero, both of whom have been linked to moves away from Tottenham, would participate in a friendly match against Reading on Saturday.
However, Frank indicated he had not yet made a decision regarding the captaincy, despite Son having captained the team to their Europa League final victory over Manchester United in May.
“Two top players, Sonny, been here 10 years, finally got his well-deserved trophy in the summer, so important for the team and the club. Cristian Romero, World Cup winner, Europa League winner, Copa America winner, very, very important for us as well,” Frank stated.
He added: “I haven’t decided anything on that (captaincy). I have a long list of bullet points I need to get through and I take them in the right order. He (Son) was the captain last year and when we play two 45s (halves of 45 minutes each) tomorrow, Son and Romero will be the two captains, but I haven’t made a final decision.”
Regarding Gibbs-White, Tottenham was believed to have activated the £60 million (AU$123 million) release clause in the England midfielder's contract with Nottingham Forest. However, Forest has alleged that Spurs contacted Gibbs-White directly prior to approaching the club, leaving his future uncertain.
“I will not speak about players who are not mine,” Frank commented. “I think I have two exceptions and they are getting older -- (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi.”
Frank humorously remarked that he joined Spurs with the expectation of being sacked. He acknowledged that the team would inevitably lose matches, referencing the unbeaten 2003/04 season of arch-rivals Arsenal.
“One thing is 100 percent sure, we will lose football matches,” he stated. “I haven’t seen a team that is not losing any football matches. There is Arsenal, that we can’t mention, in the Premier League. So I made my first rookie mistake there!”
Frank also praised Postecoglou’s achievements at Spurs, noting: “First and foremost, I have said that before, Ange will forever be a legend here at Tottenham. He is one of three who has won a European trophy and the first in 41 years. Unbelievable, fantastic achievement.”
It has been nearly 65 years since Spurs were crowned champions of England, having won both the old First Division and the FA Cup in the 1960/61 season.
“Going into a new season and in football, it’s about dreaming and hoping,” Frank concluded. “That’s what we do. I’ll do everything every day to work towards hopefully taking this club to new heights - that’s the ambition.”
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