Thomas Frank believes Tottenham Hotspur are making progress, albeit with small steps, as he expressed his delight at the arrival of the “unbelievable” Conor Gallagher during the January transfer window.
Frank received yet more jeers from frustrated fans following Spurs’ 2-1 FA Cup loss to Aston Villa on Saturday — the north London club’s seventh defeat in 13 matches in all competitions.
But the Tottenham hierarchy appear to be standing by Frank, with the club completing the signing of England international Gallagher for a reported fee of £34.7 million ($45.5 million) this week.
On Thursday it was announced Frank had hired John Heitinga as his new assistant first-team coach to replace Matt Wells, who left to take over at Colorado Rapids.
Tottenham may be a lowly 14th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s visit of struggling London rivals West Ham, but Frank insisted Thursday “good signs” were evident and that “everything is going forward”.
“I’m very aware of how this football world works, no doubt about that,” he said. “I know that we haven’t got enough of the result we want.
“I can just see the small steps we’re constantly doing. I still refer to the last six games with more positive, consistent performances. Not perfect, but there’s some good signs.”
The Danish coach added: “The two second halves against Bournemouth (a 3-2 defeat) and Villa where it is so easy to fall apart. They actually step in together, they add more. I think that’s talking about a culture that’s getting a little bit stronger, more ‘come on, let’s do everything we can to turn this little momentum’.
“In football, sometimes momentum changes like that. I can see the small signs of the culture, the training, how the boys have been training here.
“(We’re) working very hard on the offensive part of the game, because we know the defensive in many ways looks quite good, not through the roof, but quite good. Big improvements, set pieces are there. It’s the offensive we need to do better.
“That’s what we’re working hard on. I think all the small steps we’re doing, with everything from signing Conor, signing John Heitinga as assistant coach…Everything is going forward. We just need to add a top performance and a win on Saturday.”
Frank will hope Gallagher can give Spurs a boost in a week when Rodrigo Bentancur has been sidelined following hamstring surgery and Richarlison has suffered a similar problem and is unlikely to return before March.
Gallagher struggled for a starting spot at Atletico, but scored seven goals and produced nine assists in his final season at Chelsea.
“How he ended his last year in Chelsea, I think he was at times unplayable and I think he was a fantastic player for Chelsea that season, so that’s the Conor Gallagher we are looking at,” said Frank.
“That’s the Conor Gallagher I’m thinking can step straight into this team and help us straight away.”
