Bournemouth vs Spurs | Every word of Thomas Frank’s pre-match press conference

Thomas Frank was back in front of the media again at Hotspur Way on Monday afternoon, looking ahead to Wednesday night’s trip to AFC Bournemouth.

Here’s what he had to say...

Is there an update on Mohammed Kudus’ injury?

Thomas: “He's going for a scan here at one o'clock to clarify the issue. So, unfortunately, I don't have a big update on it.”

Is he ruled out against Bournemouth?

Thomas: “He’s most likely ruled out for Bournemouth, yes.”

Is Destiny Udogie due to return?

Thomas: “We haven't talked about that before. He's training and he's looking better, so that's positive.”

Could Dominic Solanke be involved against his old club?

Thomas: “No, he will not, but positive going forward.”

You tried to sign Brennan Johnson at Brentford but you’ve now let him leave – what has changed?

Thomas: “Two different situations, two different clubs. Brennan has made himself a club legend in some ways, scoring the winning goal in Bilbao, winning the fantastic Europa League trophy, done well, was the top scorer last year, I think, in all competitions, doing well. Then Mo Kudus came in, playing on the right wing, which is also Brennan's best position, not that he can't play to the left but best position and then for the long-term plans, there was an opportunity to sell Brennan now, and give him an opportunity to try something else, so that was the right decision.”

Did you get good value for Johnson?

Thomas: “That is (for) someone who is very good at negotiating prices and buying and selling players, much better than me, so I think that's a question for them, if I'm fair. I think that's fair.”

Now that Ruben Amorim has left Manchester United, do you feel you had a ‘lucky escape’ after having an interview there?

Thomas: “I'll probably repeat my answer from the last press conference. We don't know what's happened behind the scenes, that's up to you guys or journalists following Man United closely. It can be something with the Head Coach, something with the ownership or leadership, it can be misalignment, whatever. Most likely, they are the most common reasons that a Head Coach is either stopping or getting sacked. I think it's just another example from my point of view that it's very difficult to achieve sustainable success if you change key personnel in clubs, like the Head Coach, like the sporting directors. I think if you think you have the right ones and you're aligned, you need to do it over a long time. So now it's two clubs with one-and-a-half years. Again, I'm not judging it, I'm just saying that's actually the facts in that sense, there could be many reasons for it, I just don't know. In this fantastic, beautiful football world, you win one day and play well, you're in heaven, you lose and you don't play that well, you're in hell. The best clubs, they are aligned, ownership, leadership and Head Coach, over time, and you keep the noise out, and you look at the progress behind it. It goes up and down, and hopefully over time, more and more up, then you achieve something big together. The three biggest, latest examples of that, of course, are Liverpool, City and Arsenal."

Is there a subtle difference or a big difference between being a manager and a Head Coach?

Thomas: “I don't know. I think these days it's more or less that in all clubs there's a sporting director or a technical director or whatever we call it. There's definitely one above you, no matter if you're a manager or a Head Coach. If you're a manager I guess it's the chairman of the board or whatever it is, sometimes it’s the CEO, I think there's different constructions in clubs, most likely, no matter if you're the Head Coach or the manager, it's not like you’ve just got the key for the money box or whatever you call it, you just open it and pull out millions and just buy players and have no responsibilities, so for me, no matter what kind of title you have, it always needs to be collaborative between the Head Coach, the sporting director, ownership, leadership, whatever, so you're completely aligned in what you do. Then sometimes there'll be disagreements. We all push, we're all competitive, but that needs to be completely aligned. And again, that's where the biggest success you see is coming.”

How do you assess the Premier League table?

Thomas: “It's a very crazy league, very even league. I said that I think the competition between teams is very big. The difference between teams is very small. It's small margins, so we need to look optimistically and positive on the future, but also understanding where we are and keep working very hard to improve and make sure we are ready against a very good Bournemouth team. I know they haven't won as much lately, but they are a team that is very competitive with (Andoni) Iraola. I watched the game against Arsenal, that was a very tricky game that Bournemouth easily could have at least got something out of.”

When do you expect to find out the outcome of Cristian Romero’s FA charge?

Thomas: “That, I honestly don't know. I know he's available for Bournemouth – that's the game ahead for me.”

What can you say about Ben Davies after Sunday?

Thomas: “I think those type of characters are so underrated in many ways. Ben is a fantastic character, a true pro and I would say ambassador for this club. The things he experienced in the last 11 years here with all the ups and the downs and the ups and the downs, with 15 different managers or something like that... or at least a few. He's a fantastic guy to have. The way he stepped on the pitch with composure and personality just helped us a lot. I think he did very well.”

Can Mathys Tel get the minutes that he needs here at Spurs this season?

Thomas: “I think it's pretty fair to say that we are maybe a little bit short on offensive options, so hopefully. I think also it's fair, there's no one who's really grabbed that shirt on the left-hand side so I think that's definitely up for grabs. I think it was a positive performance from Mathys, I think he did some positive things and got into good situations. He had actually one where he bent it to the far corner where I think he's probably the best finisher from that position where I think he is a little bit disappointed in himself. It's fair, he's young, it's not like he played five games in a row… I hoped for course for him and for us that he could do it and we've seen it so that was good. I think he was also taking more care of the ball. I think it's a big thing, we spoke about that against Brentford and Crystal Palace, we lost the ball maybe 20 or 25 times – you should never lose the ball. That's also part of it. You can't break through, okay, you protect it, one more pass, two more passes, okay, then we go again. But overall, positive.”

Spurs dominated the first half against Sunderland but actually had less possession – can you explain that?

Thomas: “I think there’s a few things. The first thing is I agree with you, the first half was by far better than the second and even in the first half, it was not like we had 65 per cent or whatever. Sometimes it's not only about the possession, you like to dominate but they went man-for-man, so there was a lot of open spaces to run into. For me, that's more the critical areas that we didn't manage to punish from this game. Second half, I felt we dropped off in our drop-off runs to open up and keep the ball. I think also, it’s not like we won five games in a row and everything is just free and smooth so, when you're up 1-0 and you really badly want to win, that can be a little bit, maybe a little bit nervy. One thing is our name and our fantastic history, another reality is where we are right now.”

Are you eager to give Mathys Tel a run on the left wing?

Thomas: “I would say that he definitely had a positive impact. Let's see what will happen against Bournemouth, but I'm with you, it's also that fine balance of giving some players the trust for a run of games, so they can maybe hopefully find a bit of rhythm and also increase their performance level, then the tactical approach of the opponents, which players fit into that and get the right mix and balance in the team, but Mathys in general was positive.”

Does the FA Cup match against Aston Villa at the weekend come into your thinking when you select the team to play Bournemouth?

Thomas: “For me, it's head down and focus on the next one. The next one is always the one ahead of me, ahead of us. For me, the FA Cup is also hugely important. Both games will be treated very, very importantly. If there's rotation, then it's because of rotation of getting freshness and energy into the team and that will be the main focus.”

How has Dominic Solanke looked during his work at the training ground?

Thomas: “Today you could see in training that he's nice and composed on the ball, good decisions, good touches and then when we’re a little bit more competitive in the small-sided games, he is of course lacking and he looked a little rusty, which is completely normal. Now he's unfortunately been out for at least six months, a little bit more than that, so, of course, it will take a little bit of time. So, even if he's ready for whatever time in the near future, hopefully, then I think you will be surprised to just see him hit the ground running. Very few players do that.”

What can you say about Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth?

Thomas: “I think Iraola has done a top job down there. First and foremost being part of creating an interesting team with interesting players that have done well and developed them, so they've also gone to on paper play for big (clubs). They play a very aggressive pressing game, it’s one of the best pressing teams in the league, if not the best. They play with incredible intensity, when they do that they also play fairly direct, so if you press, boom there's a ball behind, so you need to deal with that. They have a very lively front four, no matter who plays, so that's where we need to be good and compete, but also be smart.”