Football365

The Champions League is back and there’s managerial intrigue all over the place as Roberto De Zerbi auditions for a big Premier League job against Arne Slot’s Liverpool, Thomas Frank stares down the barrel and Liam Rosenior takes charge of his first game in the competition.

Meanwhile, Inter away feels like a game for Kai Havertz and not Viktor Gyokeres, if indeed there’s such a thing as a game for Viktor Gyokeres.

Game to watch: Marseille v Liverpool

“Ideally it’s not 11 games unbeaten it’s 11 wins in a row,” Arne Slot said ahead of their clash with Burnley when asked if the run was a sign of improvement and greater stability after a harrowing few weeks of defeats. As the boos rang out at Anfield after Marcus Edwards’ equaliser Saturday we wondered if what is now a 12-game unbeaten run has ever been met with such apathy from a group of supporters.

The concern for many of those fans – those who have now had enough of Slot – is that the turgid, cautious football now being played by Liverpool doesn’t allow for the sort of result required to put a nail in the Dutchman’s coffin.

A Champions League defeat of any sort would put hammer in hand with Liverpool currently out of the automatic qualification spots, but De Zerbi’s Marseille are capable of striking the telling blow on Wednesday.

With several top Premier League jobs set to shortly be going begging, De Zerbi will have extra motivation if it were needed to dole out a mega-win the likes of which Marseille have delivered on several occasions this season. They’ve hit opposition teams for five or more seven times.

READ: Van Dijk is wrong over biggest problem Liverpool ‘have to address again apparently’ in ‘debrief’

Team to watch: Chelsea

Liam Rosenior has very quickly been cast as a David Brent-ian figure of fun owing to his middle-management away-day tropes, and we’re all thoroughly looking forward to The Athletic long-read detailing his use of kitchen utensils as tools in analogies and quotes from buxom country singers as motivation, but it is also worth considering how far he’s come in such a short space of time as he prepares for his first Champions League game. Credit is as due as the withering putdowns on the basis of his grating personality.

There’s a lot of good fortune in his appointment. Chelsea are the only club of their size and standing that would hand such an opportunity to a guy of Liam Rosenior’s level of experience and he would not have got the job had he not been managing sister club Strasbourg.

But he’s “worked his whole life for this” and if we allow ourselves to put cynicism for a moment it’s undeniably great to see a young English coach of Sierra Leonean descent who had a decent but not outstanding playing career now managing Chelsea at the very highest level, albeit vs Pafos at home first up.

It is possible to root for someone you don’t want to share a pint with.

Team to watch: Tottenham

The solace that the Champions League has provided for Thomas Frank at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one of the great quirks of the season. While only West Ham (7) and Wolves (5) have won fewer points at home than Spurs (9) in the Premier League, Frank’s side have won all three of their Champions League games on home turf, scoring eight goals and conceding none.

Villarreal, Copenhagen and Slavia Prague is as gentle a run of opponents as he could have hoped for mind, and Borussia Dortmund – second in the Bundesliga and level on 11 points with Spurs just outside the automatic spots – aren’t the next patsy Frank needs to save his job.

David Ornstein reckons “it’s a matter of when, not if, he will go” and the “when” will surely be Tuesday around 10pm should Spurs not get a result against the Bundesliga side. When the players believe a manager is “out of his depth” there’s only ever one outcome.

Player to watch: Kai Havertz

Surely. He’s been fit, if not match fit, for the last six games and has made just two substitute appearances totalling 29 minutes against Portsmouth in the FA Cup and Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final. Arsenal’s forwards have been pants in most of those games; no one more pants than Viktor Gyokeres.

Even if the £64m striker was flying rather than delivering the bumbling reality, Gyokeres need not play against Inter on Wednesday. Arsenal are three points clear at the top of the table. If anything, the Swede looks as though he could do with a night off to sulk, scream into the night or however else he exhibits his utter misery.

The danger for him is that the return of Havertz will also see the return of Arsenal’s attacking fluency and consign Gyokeres to the bench for the foreseeable. There’s more than a fair chance of that happening as the best football Arsenal have played this season – against Tottenham and then Bayern Munich in November – came when The Proper Striker They’ve Always Needed was out injured.

EFL game to watch: Coventry v Millwall

Frank Lampard’s side were running away with the Championship at the end of November but their lead at the top of the table has been cut to six points after just three wins in their last nine games and Millwall in fourth are just nine points behind Coventry ahead of their meeting at the CBS arena on Tuesday.

A win for Lampard would ease the nerves of his young side, who are now playing with The Fear that was absent in the first few months of the campaign. Millwall meanwhile will believe they have a genuine chance of automatic promotion should they come away with all three points.

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly have a ‘top’ interim candidate to replace Thomas Frank until the summer, while there is an update on Mauricio Pochettino.

The pressure on Frank has mounted following Saturday’s embarrassing 2-1 loss against relegation-threatened West Ham.

Frank’s appointment has not worked for anyone involved, as he does not appear to be a good fit for Spurs. He has failed to gain backing from supporters, who have taken issue with his dull style of play.

Results and performances have also been dire as the north London outfit have slipped deep into the bottom half of the Premier League over the past few weeks.

Despite this, several outlets have revealed that Frank will remain in charge for Tuesday night’s Champions League group phase match against Borussia Dortmund.

READ: Spurs sacking Thomas Frank is easy; delaying it is absolutely pointless

Regarding Frank’s position, Sky Sports have claimed: ‘Frank is under increasing pressure to keep his job and the Spurs hierarchy are believed to be looking at alternative options after board-level talks following the defeat at home to West Ham on Saturday.

‘No final decision has yet been made and the long-term plan has always been for Frank to lead the team through a difficult, transitional period for the club.’

Former Liverpool coach John Heitinga recently joined Spurs as Frank’s assistant, though Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad have claimed that ‘at the top of the list of candidates as a temporary successor’ as he is ‘in this circus’ for the long haul after penning a deal until 2028.

Heitinha has the necessary experience to guide Spurs until the summer, by which point they will likely look to appoint a long-term successor.

READ: Who will be next Tottenham manager if (when) Thomas Frank is sacked? Amorim, Maresca in the hunt

Beyond this season, Spurs are being linked with several potential long-term replacements, including club legend Mauricio Pochettino.

It has been widely reported in recent years that he would be keen on returning to Spurs to have a second spell in charge and it is possible that he takes over after managing the United States at this summer’s World Cup.

According to a new report from Football Insider, Spurs have ‘no chance’ of luring Pochettino back to the club before the World Cup.

This is hardly surprising, but there is a fare greater chance of an appointment in the summer.

The report explains: ‘The former Spurs boss has his full focus on leading the USA in their home tournament, and a deal will not be possible until after they are eliminated, despite the pressure increasing on Thomas Frank.

‘The 53-year-old “ticks a lot of boxes” for the Tottenham hierarchy, and there is a feeling on his part that he has unfinished business in North London. The Lilywhites want somebody who is proven in the Premier League, and Pochettino’s credentials are appealing to them at this stage.’

There are few bleaker things in football than the point where absolutely everyone has realised a manager is doomed, apart from the suits who actually have to make the decision.

Spurs fans know Thomas Frank is done. The Spurs players definitely know Thomas Frank is done. Most clearly of all, Thomas Frank knows Thomas Frank is done.

In the cruellest of twists, the only person among the 60000 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Spurs’ latest barrel-scraping nadir against West Ham who doesn’t yet realise Thomas Frank is done is Vinai Venkatesham, the new post-Levy CEO who actually has to make the decision.

His mule-like refusal to accept the evidence of his own eyes and ears appears to tell us two things.

One, that we must surely all have been wrong in framing the appointment of Frank as Daniel Levy’s last act at Spurs. The timing of announcements may suggest it was his call, but it can’t have been, can it?

The refusal to admit a clear and obvious mistake makes even less sense if we continue to act as if the clear and obvious mistake Spurs’ ‘new’ rebadged Lewis Family regime are denying isn’t even their own.

And two, Vinai really did let pulling a Homer with the Mikel Arteta decision at Arsenal convince him he is some kind of manager-whisperer.

He isn’t. Frank is a dud, entirely out of his depth and wholly unsuited to a job that would right now be astonishingly hard for the right man, never mind such a conspicuously wrong man.

And at some point in the very near future even Venkatesham and the other new-broom suits in the Spurs boardroom are going to have to accept reality. Having already waited long enough to allow a disappointing season to descend into an undignified relegation fight, further delay will soon reach a point where it becomes existential.

There is a match against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. It is, of course, a vaguely inconvenient irrelevance and it does seem like Frank will be in charge of that.

Win or lose (SPOILER: they will almost certainly lose) it makes no real difference. We don’t think we’re speaking out of turn in suggesting Spurs will not win the Champions League this season either way and, thanks to the dreary design of your modern Champions League, they will still likely end up in the play-offs at worst even if they lose both their remaining league-stage games.

But after Dortmund comes a third successive Premier League six-pointer, against Burnley. Having lost against a team with no wins in 11 games and then a team with no wins in 10 games, they really cannot afford to lose another one of these.

After Burnley, Spurs play Man City, Man United, Newcastle and Arsenal. They have already lost the chance to get a new-manager bounce in games against Sunderland, Bournemouth and West Ham; even if they act today they are now looking at hoping for a bounce against some teams that are actually good.

They’ll probably beat City, obviously, but outside that it’s hard to see where points currently come from in any of these games – Burnley included – if Frank remains at the wheel. If they are still below 30 points when that run of games is done, it is no longer an outside chance of being sucked into relegation trouble.

The clear desire from the Spurs board to at least muddle through until summer and see where they’re at might be about to collide hard with a far more uncomfortable reality. At some point during that run, pennies will drop and Frank will be sacked.

But then what? Part of the desire to muddle through the season could be about the potential for a bigger pool of suitable managerial candidates to exist in the summer. Especially after the World Cup.

Yet if, as looks increasingly certain, that luxury is not one that will remain open to Spurs, what should they do?

Do they go the Man United interim route? Appointing a former Ajax head coach as Frank’s new assistant manager was certainly an interesting move last week, one that could just as easily be seen as readying a knife for the manager’s back as showing him support.

But it doesn’t really change things. Say it is John Heitinga as interim for the rest of the season; on what grounds could you possibly expect that to prompt meaningful improvement at the speed Spurs will require it?

It’s easy when watching Spurs to think it can’t get any worse than it already is. But they’ve just spent the last few games reminding us that, in the immortal words of Mick McCarthy: it can.

But it also is genuinely now quite hard for it to get much worse. After the last two league defeats, and with the recent improvement and greater resilience being shown by your Wolveses and Burnleys, it is neither difficult nor mischievous to suggest Spurs are as of right now the single worst team in the division.

It does feel like almost anything must by definition be better than… whatever this spectacle of collective misery now is. But if Spurs are going to try, as they really probably should, to appoint a proper new manager now then it’s very far from easy.

One lesson Spurs must learn from Frank, despite their proud record of never learning any lessons from anything ever, is that appointing an impressive and overachieving manager from a well-run club is a bigger gamble than you might think.

We’ve seen it with Graham Potter and we’re seeing it now with Frank. It’s not just how exposed they’ve looked outside the sensible and functional environments in which they flourished; it’s how effortlessly the clubs they’ve left have carried on without them.

Neither Brighton nor now Brentford have missed those once-venerated managers at all. What was hailed at the time as a fine manager doing great work has turned out to just be a well-run club being a well-run club.

That means this morning’s links with Fabian Hurzeler should raise concern. But makes someone like Oliver Glasner potentially much more interesting.

On the face of it, it’s an appointment that has all the same issues as Frank or Hurzeler or another stepping-stone appointment. The football isn’t a perfect fit for Spurs, and there is no record of success at a club of comparable size. But at least he isn’t a manager who has flourished only in high-functioning environments. Crystal Palace are not Brighton or Brentford, and that means something.

Of course, there is also something delicious about the idea of Glasner flouncing out of Palace in righteous indignation at the suits’ lack of support for the football side of operations and then turning up immediately at Spurs.

What Glasner’s vague if unconvincing suitability really highlights, though, is just how large Spurs’ problems now are. They have an obviously doomed manager who should have been sacked weeks ago, but no obvious route out of trouble under anyone else. The gettable managers aren’t quite right, and the right managers aren’t quite gettable.

The right profile of manager for what Spurs have become is something of a unicorn. The clearest indicator of that is that a manager of the perfect profile is out there, right now. Xabi Alonso is precisely the right fit.

There are no guarantees of success anywhere in football, and that’s more true of Spurs than just about anyone else. But if you were looking for just the right level of manager to have the best possible chance, then a man who Knows The League and has achieved astonishing things with a club like Bayer Leverkusen before coming unstuck at a club like Real Madrid is the ideal kind of thing.

And there is absolutely no chance of that happening, because Xabi Alonso isn’t an idiot.

So while certainty exists on what Spurs must do first of all, there is no clarity whatsoever about what happens next. And that’s really even more important.

They can go interim, they can have another go at finding an overachieving manager further down the food chain who can manage to replicate that success at the world’s stupidest football club, they can make a doomed play for the actual perfect manager for them who is certain to have better offers.

None of it looks that appealing. But what they absolutely must do now is something. It should already have been clear that ‘do nothing’ was already the worst option even before the West Ham unpleasantness.

“Many players” at Tottenham think Thomas Frank is “not the right fit” as the Spurs head coach nears the sack, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

Spurs took their recent poor form to a new low over the weekend as they lost 2-1 at home to London rivals West Ham, who are in the relegation zone.

The Hammers had not won a Premier League match since November 8 before rocking up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Callum Wilson scoring an injury-time winner to give Nuno Espirito Santo’s side all three points.

There had already been pressure on Frank heading into the match against West Ham with Tottenham winning once in their last eight matches in all competitions.

Spurs are now 14th in the Premier League table and various reports are claiming that Frank is ‘on the brink’ of being sacked by the Tottenham hierarchy.

And now Ornstein of The Athletic, who is one of the most reliable journalists around, insists that there is a feeling that “it’s a matter of when, not if, he will go”.

READ: Who will be next Tottenham manager if (when) Thomas Frank is sacked? Amorim, Maresca in the hunt

Speaking on his Instagram story, Ornstein said: “It’s a critical situation for Thomas Frank at Tottenham Hotspur. As things stand, he remains in position, and Tottenham play in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. So, possibly he gets to take charge of that.

“There is still a lot of goodwill behind Thomas Frank internally at Tottenham, they want him to succeed, but I think there is a great deal of realism too. There’s an acceptance that that might not happen, which makes me think it’s a matter of when, not if, he will go.

READ: Slot, Carrick, Guardiola among 10 PL managers likely to leave their clubs before next season

“Of course, there’s a chance of a dramatic upturn, but I think that’s looking improbable, especially when the fans have turned against him and the hierarchy. Also, from what we hear, many players are understandably dissatisfied, feeling that, not that Thomas Frank is out of his depth, but perhaps he wasn’t the right fit for this job.”

Ornstein later added in The Athletic: ‘Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank is expected to take charge of his team’s game against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday despite mounting uncertainty over his future.

‘The expectation at the club is that he will lead the open training session at 2:15pm on Monday and appear at his press conference at 3:30pm before being in the dugout for Dortmund’s visit to north London.’

When asked about the boos and chants of ‘your getting sacked in the morning’, Tottenham boss Frank replied: “Of course, I probably have had better times. I understand – I’m the man in charge, so the blame will go to me. That’s fair, no problem in that sense.

“As long as they are backing the players, doing everything they can to support them and drive them forward, and we will keep going forward.”

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly settled on Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler as their ‘top managerial target’ to replace Thomas Frank.

Frank appears to be on the brink of losing his job as his summer move to Spurs has not worked for anyone involved.

The former Brentford boss was appointed to steady the ship following Ange Postecoglou’s reign, but Spurs supporters have not clicked with their new boss over his uninspiring style of play.

Results and performances have also been dire as the north London outfit have fallen from near the top of the Premier League table to 14th in recent months.

Tottenham hit a new low at the weekend as they suffered an embarrassing 2-1 home loss against relegation-threatened West Ham, with it subsequently reported that Frank is ‘on the brink’ of being sacked.

READ: Slot, Carrick, Guardiola among 10 PL managers likely to leave their clubs before next season

Spurs are already linked with several potential replacements, including Oliver Glasner, Mauricio Pochettino, Xavi and Xabi Alonso.

But a report from Football Insider claims they have ‘set their sights on’ Hurzeler as their ‘top managerial target’ to replace Frank.

The report claims Spurs are ‘edging closer’ to parting ways with Frank, while they are targeting Hurzeler for four reasons.

The report explains:

‘Hurzeler‘s extensive top-level experience despite his young age is seen as a major asset for Spurs as they look to put in place ambitious plans for the future. The German manager has a contract at Brighton until 2027 but could be tempted to take on a new challenge at Tottenham if offered the opportunity.

‘The Texas-born manager has impressed Spurs thanks to the positive work he has done, while he is also a very popular figure among his Brighton players.’

READ: Who will be next Tottenham manager if (when) Thomas Frank is sacked? Amorim, Maresca in the hunt

And Frank could be in the frame for a speedy return to management as another report from Football Insider claims Crystal Palace ‘plan to offer’ him a job.

Palace are in the market for a new boss as Oliver Glasner is in the final few months of his contract and has confirmed that he will leave in the summer.

It has been suggested that Glasner could leave before the summer following his bombshell outburst against the board at the weekend, but it has since been revealed that they are keen for him to see out his contract.

Regarding Frank, the report claims: ‘Sources say Frank is seen as the perfect fit at Selhurst Park thanks to his impressive record at Brentford, where he was working on a similar budget to the Eagles.

‘The Tottenham boss has endured a miserable six months in North London, but remains very highly rated and his appointment would be seen as a coup for Crystal Palace.’

Tottenham are now ‘on the brink’ of sacking Thomas Frank with two candidates emerging as his potential permanent successor, according to reports.

Spurs lost once again on Saturday with London rivals West Ham scoring an injury-time winner to boost their survival chances.

It was the Hammers first win in the Premier League since November 8 as Tottenham extended their run of matches without a win to five games under Frank.

Tottenham have now won just one of their last eight matches in all competitions and Frank is coming under some serious pressure in the boardroom.

Reacting to the defeat, Frank told reporters: “Of course, I’ve probably had better times.

“It’s probably not the best time of course, but I understand, I’m the man in charge, so the blame will go to me. That’s fair.

READ: Slot, Carrick, Guardiola among 10 PL managers likely to leave their clubs before next season

“No problem in that sense. As long as they are backing the players, doing everything they can to support them and drive them forward, that’s what we do and we will keep going forward.”

And now The Sun claims that Frank is ‘on the brink of being sacked’ by Tottenham with the Spurs hierarchy ‘now weighing up whether to axe him before Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund’.

The report adds: ‘Senior figures are understood to be keen to take the temperature of Frank’s squad to assess if there is still internal support for the former Brentford boss.

‘But there is a growing sense that the Dane cannot restore any authority and that the best move for all parties could be to bring his miserable seven-month reign to an end swiftly.’

John Heitinga is likely to take over as caretaker manager, while former Barcelona boss Xavi is ‘in the frame’ to get the permanent job and Mauricio Pochettino would also be a candidate if Frank is sacked.

READ:Who will be next Tottenham manager if (when) Thomas Frank is sacked? Amorim, Maresca in the hunt

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney had sympathy for Frank after the defeat to West Ham as “it looks like he’ll lose his job”.

Rooney said on Match of the Day: “I’ve seen Thomas Frank at the end of the game and I felt for him. I’ve been in that position and it’s not a nice place to be.

“It’s a lonely place to be sometimes and especially when he’ll be feeling that a change is coming. I think the Tottenham fans have spoken.

“We’ve seen it before with the Tottenham fans and they’re not happy with what’s going on. Unfortunately, when that happens, it looks like he’ll lose his job.

“I’ve stood at Elland Road [when Birmingham City manager] and I knew it was coming just after New Year. New Year’s Day actually I think.

“Yeah, you know and it’s not a nice feeling because you want the ground to swallow you up.”

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur have opted ‘to sack’ head coach Thomas Frank as they are ‘accelerating plans’ to bring in a replacement.

Frank was appointed to replace former boss Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, having been tasked to stabilise the club following a chaotic couple of years.

However, Frank has failed in that regard, with Tottenham‘s dire form over the past few months leaving them 14th in the Premier League as the split between club chiefs and supporters remains.

It has been proven to be a mistake to appoint Frank, who has not clicked with supporters, as results have been poor and his style of football has been uninspiring.

On Saturday, Spurs reached a new low as they suffered an embarrassing 2-1 home loss against relegation-threatened West Ham, with Fabrizio Romano confirming after this match that his “job is at serious risk”.

“This is a really terrible moment for Tottenham, even though the club tried to show support for Thomas Frank during the week by appointing John Heitinga, former Ajax manager and former Arne Slot assistant at Liverpool, as part of the backroom staff,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

READ: Who will be next Tottenham manager if (when) Thomas Frank is sacked? Amorim, Maresca in the hunt

“There were positive signals and images of support, but once again Tottenham lost over the weekend, and now the situation is very complicated for Thomas Frank.

“His job is at serious risk, and while Tottenham must decide whether to make a change now or give him time to try to turn things around, the reality is that his position is not safe at this stage.

“Internal talks are taking place, the next hours and days will be crucial, and while Glasner is expected to leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season, Thomas Frank is fighting to keep his job at Tottenham as the club prepares to make a decision very soon.

“Champions League football also plays a role in the timing of Tottenham’s decision, but the key message remains that the situation for Thomas Frank is dangerous and his job is not safe at this moment.”

Now, a report from Football Insider claims Spurs are ‘to sack Frank and appoint a replacement immediately’ as they are ‘accelerating plans’.

READ: F365’s 3pm Blackout: Frank sack imminent and Slot not far behind as Liverpool make unwelcome history

The report explains: ‘Saturday’s defeat and the reaction from Spurs fans is believed to be a “game-changer” for the club’s hierarchy, with chants of ‘sacked in the morning’ ringing out.

‘As a result, work has already begun to identify his successor with both interim and full-time appointments being considered behind the scenes.’

Spurs are already linked with several potential replacements, and talkSPORT are reporting that club legend and current United States boss Mauricio Pochettino is ‘open to a return’.

They said: ‘If Frank is sacked, Spurs would likely appoint an interim manager until the end of the season.

‘It is understood former boss Mauricio Pochettino would be open to a return to the club after leading the USA at this summer’s World Cup.’

According to reports, a Tottenham Hotspur chief has ‘recommended’ Thomas Frank’s ‘dismissal’, while one ‘leading candidate’ is keen to replace him.

Frank is currently among the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked, as Tottenham’s form in recent months has been shambolic.

Former Brentford boss Frank was brought in to balance the books following Ange Postecoglou’s chaotic reign, but he has taken Spurs too far in the other direction as he has been heavily criticised by supporters over his dull approach.

Results have also been dire as the north London side have only won two of their previous 13 Premier League matches.

Spurs hit a new low on Saturday as they suffered an embarrassing 2-1 home loss against relegation-threatened West Ham, with BBC reporter Sami Mokbel claiming ‘at least one club executive has actively recommended Frank’s dismissal’ as he ‘loses internal support’.

READ: F365’s 3pm Blackout: Frank sack imminent and Slot not far behind as Liverpool make unwelcome history

Mokbel explained: ‘BBC Sport understands at least one member of the club’s executive team has actively raised the option of ending Frank’s reign in recent weeks.

‘The club have so far backed Frank despite Spurs’ struggles this season, but Saturday’s home defeat by West Ham means his position is now under threat as the club’s hierarchy weighs up whether they should move immediately or give Frank a chance to turn things round.’

Spurs are already linked with several potential repalcements, including former boss and current United States manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Now, a report from Football Insider claims Pochettino is ‘one of the leading candidates’ on Tottenham’s shortlist’, and he has already ‘opened the door to a return’ to the club, with reporter Pete O’Rourke insisting he has not “hidden his desire”.

“Pochettino himself, he’s never hidden his desire to maybe return to Tottenham. He feels he’s got unfinished business there,” O’Rourke said.

“So he would be somebody that I’m sure the club have continued to keep tabs on.

“If something does happen with Thomas Frank, Pochettino would tick a lot of boxes because of his experience and everything else. But yeah, nothing’s going to happen until the summer on that one. And let’s see what happens with Thomas Frank between now and then.

“But look, Pochettino, top manager, did a great job in his first spell at Tottenham.

“I’m sure he’s somebody who would definitely be in there thinking if they do need to replace Thomas Frank.”

Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara, meanwhile, has named his “dream” replacement for Frank.

“You go interim until the end of the season,” O’Hara told talkSPORT.

“I don’t know who…I’d like someone with an affiliation to Spurs, just until the end of the season.

“I’d have Robbie Keane in until the end of the season, but he won’t leave unless he’s getting a job full time.”

Regarding a long-term replacement, O’Hara later added: “In dreamland, I’d say Xabi Alonso.

“But I don’t think we’d get him…I’m not saying we’d get him, but I’m just not sure what the answer is.”

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank is at ‘serious risk’ of losing his job after the 2-1 loss against West Ham United.

Frank appears to be on the brink of losing his Spurs job, as several outlets have claimed that he is under severe pressure following Saturday’s embarrassing 2-1 home loss to relegation-threatened West Ham.

Tottenham’s latest loss leaves them 14th in the Premier League and only ten points clear of the relegation places.

After the loss to West Ham, it has been reported that the north London outfit are ‘weighing up a change’ in the dugout as Frank increasingly looks like the wrong fit for the club.

An insider on X has since claimed that club chiefs ‘called an emergency meeting’ on Saturday evening, while ‘Frank could be sacked if the board reaches agreement’.

Now, Romano has provided a detailed update on Frank’s situation, with the Spurs boss “not safe at this stage”.

“[It’s] a really terrible situation a moment for Tottenham,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

READ: F365’s 3pm Blackout: Frank sack imminent and Slot not far behind as Liverpool make unwelcome history

“Yes, Tottenham tried to show support for Thomas Frank by appointing John Heitinga, former Arne Slot assistant at Liverpool, as a new part of the backroom staff during the week. So, trying to add one more piece to the backroom staff and to show support in a beautiful picture with Thomas Frank and John Heitinga.

“But then over the weekend, Saturday, Tottenham lose again. Now the situation is very, very complicated for Thomas Frank at Tottenham, his job is at serious risk, so let’s see what happens in the next hours and days.

“But the situation of Thomas Frank at Tottenham is not safe at this stage, so they could change the manager. Let’s see if it’ll be now, or if they will give him opportunity to try to turn the situation. But the situation is very tense for Thomas Frank at Tottenham.”

READ: Premier League sack race: Slot not far behind Nuno and Frank in a grim race to the bottom

He added: “Thomas Frank is fighting to keep his job at Tottenham, but the club will decide very soon.

“Internal talks are taking place, and it’s going to be a crucial moment for the future of Thomas Frank at Tottenham. Then there is Champions League football, so let’s see with the timing what Tottenham decide to do.

“But the situation of Thomas Frank is in danger, so let’s see what’s going to happen. He’s not safe in this moment, his job at Tottenham is not safe.”

Spurs are already being linked with several potential replacements, including former Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso.

However, a report from The Independent claims Alonso, who has been internally mentioned as a candidate, ‘feels he will have better options over the coming months’.

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank is likely to have “two or three games” left to prove himself at Spurs ahead of their match against West Ham.

The north London club are 14th in the Premier League table ahead of their 3pm kick-off against the Hammers on Saturday afternoon with Frank’s side looking to climb towards the top half of the table.

Tottenham have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions and Frank is coming under pressure from fans and the board to turn things around.

A recent report claimed that the Spurs board are “split” over Frank’s future with Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham coming feeling the heat over the appointment of the former Brentford head coach in the summer.

And now there is a fresh update from former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who reckons Frank only has “two or three games” to save his job.

Borson told Football Insider: “I think the injury situation is a big issue and I think the manager is a big issue as well because clearly he’s not really started well.

READ: El Sackico: Will Frank or Nuno join Lampard, O’Neil and, well, Nuno among its victims?

“I think you’ve got to start relatively well in this situation. I don’t think you can have as bad a start as he’s had and easily survive.

“He’s probably got two or three games. If two or three games now go against him, he’s probably going to get changed.

“That’s a big problem for the development of a new Tottenham, regardless of whether Daniel Levy is there or not.”

Defeat to West Ham, who are in the relegation zone, would be very hard to take for the Tottenham board and Andoni Iraola has been linked with succeeding Frank.

Iraola, who is also in the frame for the Manchester United job ahead of the summer, has responded to rumours about his future.

Speaking to Marca, Iraola said about being linked to Tottenham and other jobs: “I’m very happy at Bournemouth, I’ve always said that.

“For managers, the contract isn’t that important. I believe that trust should be renewed every year. If you’re happy with me and I’m happy with you, why not stay for another year?

“I wouldn’t want to stay somewhere simply because I have a signed contract. Once we achieve our objective, we’ll meet and see how to approach the next season and whether or not to continue. That’s what I’m thinking about, but staying here is a good option.”

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On getting results against top sides while at Bournemouth, Iraola added: “It’s not just about how you want to play. You depend on the opponent, and usually, the teams that consider themselves better accept the challenge of more open matches, and we don’t mind that.”

When asked how he convinces players to repeat so many high-intensity efforts, Iraola continued: “They have to get used to living like this every day. Training and playing like this to get into the rhythm.

“All our teams have welcomed it because, at the end of the day, we produce good results offensively. We score goals, we create chances… and when players see that there’s a reward for that work, they usually buy into it.”