Tottenham should get Thomas Frank to replace Ange Postecoglou because the Spurs boss is tactically naive, according to Jamie O’Hara.
The Aussie manager is under increasing pressure after winning only one game in seven before Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Rangers.
And Postecoglou also went to confront his own travelling fans after the Premier League defeat at Bournemouth. The former Celtic boss is proud of his record of winning a trophy in every second season with his clubs and Tottenham are still competing in the Carabao Cup and Europa League with the FA Cup to come.
But the 4-3 home defeat to Chelsea on Sunday left them down in 11th place in the Premier League.
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And former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara says: “If Ange Postecoglou keeps playing in the same way, then I’m afraid he’ll have to go, I’m sorry but Daniel Levy will have to get rid of him. You can’t go on with that football and style of defending any longer.”
“I love Thomas Frank and I’d have him at Spurs every day of the week if Ange left. I think he’d be a great fit as Tottenham’s manager if we could get him out of Brentford. He’s been brilliant there and if Ange does leave – he’d be someone I’d look at.”
Dane Frank joined Brentford as an assistant head coach in 2016 and took over the main job two years later. Taking the Bees into the Premier League for the first time - and keeping him there - saw him named as a contender to take the Manchester United job before Ruben Amorin was appointed.
Postecoglou is Tottenham’s fourth full-time manager since Mauricio Pochettino left in November 2019 with Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte all getting sacked by Tottenham owner Daniel Levy.
Cristiano Romero has now apologised for comments he made criticising the club’s owners following Sunday’s defeat at Chelsea. But O’Hara has claimed Ange Postecoglou’s lack of game management against Chelsea on Sunday was in contrast to Espírito Santo’s tactics in Nottingham Forest's weekend win over Manchester United.
“Look, Spurs went to the extreme with Jose Mourinho,” he said, speaking to Grosvenor Sport. “His football was tough to watch—defensive and rigid—but they did win games. Then Antonio Conte came in, similar story: some good stuff but still all about defence. Now they’ve swung completely the other way with Ange Postecoglou, and it’s all attack, no cohesion in the defensive structure. You need a balance—good football but also the ability to keep clean sheets.
“Nuno Espírito Santo, who Spurs binned off because his football wasn’t great, but he showed over the weekend why he’s still top-notch. Look at Forest against Man United—they played some great stuff bopping it about. But when it got to 3-2, he made changes. Straight away, subbed on defenders, switched to a 5-4-1, and said: ‘Try and break us!’ United couldn’t. That’s in-game management. Result? Three points for Forest.
“It’s not always pretty, but that’s the difference between a manager and one who knows how to adapt mid-game. Take Spurs against Chelsea—2-0 up, game should’ve been dead and buried. Instead of being horrible to watch and shutting it down, they fell apart and lost 4-3. That’s the gap between top managers. Nuno knows how to see a game out, understands his team’s strengths, and gets the job done.”