The Mirror

John Brooks has been appointed to referee Liverpool's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, with the Reds having notable history with the official

John Brooks has been selected to referee Liverpool's Premier League showdown with Tottenham this Saturday. The Reds have less than fond memories of Brooks, who gave Virgil van Dijk his marching orders during their game against Newcastle United at St James' Park in August 2023.

Van Dijk was shown the red card for denying his current teammate, Alexander Isak, a clear shot at goal. The Liverpool captain was slapped with an automatic one-match ban, which was followed by an additional suspension and a hefty £100,000 fine from the Football Association after he refused to leave the pitch and argued with Brooks and fourth official Craig Pawson.

Despite being a man down for over an hour, the Reds managed to clinch a 2-1 victory, thanks to Darwin Nunez who came off the bench to net two goals. In February, Brooks was removed from VAR duties for Liverpool's derby with Everton and Arsenal's face-off with Manchester City, following his contentious decision to disallow Brighton's goal in their 1‐1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Since then, Brooks has refereed four Liverpool matches, the most recent being the 2-1 Premier League triumph over Chelsea in October 2024, a match in which Slot questioned several decisions made by Brooks. For the upcoming game against Tottenham, Anthony Taylor will serve as the fourth official, while Stuart Attwell will be on Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duty,

Just last month, Attwell faced backlash for a significant decision in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Aston Villa. Amadou Onana escaped a red card after he seemed to grab Alexis Mac Allister by the throat as Villa were setting up to take a corner.

"The fact they were pushing and shoving each other and all right, he's raised his arm, probably a bit higher than he wanted, but he's pushing," said former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher on Sky Sports ' Ref Watch programme afterwards.

"Stuart's [Attwell] got to decide, is it violent? Is it an act of brutality? He said: 'No,' he's obviously relayed to the VAR what he's seen, VAR has checked it back. The referee said, yellow card only."

Previously, during the League Cup semi-final first leg at Tottenham in January 2022, Attwell frustrated the Liverpool camp after declining to send off Lucas Bergvall, just moments before the player netted the winning goal. The 18-year-old received a booking midway through the second half following a late tackle on Luis Diaz.

He then avoided a second yellow card shortly before scoring after diving in on Kostas Tsimikas. Saturday is another crucial match for Liverpool in north London, with Slot's squad targeting consecutive wins following recent stalemates against Sunderland and Leeds United.

Spurs, on the other hand, suffered a 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest last Sunday and have now recorded six victories and six losses each in the Premier League.

All the latest news from Anfield ahead of Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League

Liverpool's season is almost back on track, with Arne Slot's team going unbeaten in their last five games. After starting the campaign strong with five consecutive wins, the Reds suffered a woeful losing run which included defeats to Manchester United, Manchester City, Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

The 2-0 victory against Brighton, where Hugo Ekitike bagged two goals, will provide the team with the momentum to push on and make something of the 2025/2026 campaign. Next up in the Premier League is a date with Tottenham Hotspur away from home. Spurs have similarly been struggling to hit form and will be looking to bounce back after losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest.

With a stacked festive period kick-starting, Slot will be hoping his team can get results while main man Mohamed Salah is away on AFCON duties. Ahead of this weekend's game, Mirror Football take a look at all the biggest news coming out of Anfield.

Mohamed Salah flight diverted

Mohamed Salah is reportedly travelling to Saudi Arabia before AFCON. The attacker's future is up in the air after his explosive mixed zone rant after the game against Leeds United.

He returned against Brighton & Hove Albion, though, setting up Ekitike's second goal of the match.

According to Saudi broadcaster Al-Riyadiya, Salah will head to Jeddah before joining his Egyptian team-mates in Morocco.

The main reason is to perform the pilgrimage of Umrah and he may also link up with the Saudi Ministry of Tourism.

Star to say farewell

Under-16s player Kai Morrall has said goodbye to Liverpool after eight years of service at the club.

He arrived as an under-9s signings and is now an international player with Ireland. Posting to Instagram about his departure, the teenager wrote: "After 8 years at Liverpool, it is time for me to say goodbye.

"I would like to thank all the staff and the coaches that helped me develop into a better player and a person.

"I will miss the memories and friends I made along the way; however, I am looking forward to starting a new chapter and hopefully more things to come."

Tottenham have won just six of their 16 Premier League matches this season following the miserable 3-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest, which has increased pressure on Thomas Frank

Thomas Frank is under mounting pressure as Tottenham boss. But Frank does expect to be given time to turn things around despite an underwhelming start to his reign.

Under-fire Spurs boss Frank’s future has come under the spotlight again after a damaging defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Frank is one point worse off than previous boss Ange Postecoglou at the same stage as last season and fans are divided on the former Brentford manager.

Spurs players are also believed not to be convinced about Frank’s tactics while his methods have yet to produce consistent results. But Frank retains support from within and the club believe he can turn it around despite his rocky start.

They have made their worst start to a season - just 22 points from their opening 16 games - since 2008. That run has included defeats to Arsenal, Chelsea and Fulham while they crashed out of the Carabao Cup at Newcastle.

That is a massive worry for the club’s hierarchy along with less than 48,000 turning up for last week’s Champions League win over Slavia Prague.

Despite it being close to Christmas and ticket prices are expensive, the club had been desperate for a return to Europe’s top stage but fans have been left frustrated with home results and performances.

Tottenham were beaten 3-0 at Forest on Sunday with the home fans chanting: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”

Frank was former chairman Daniel Levy’s appointment which may not help his cause but the Dane has received backing from the club’s new hierarchy. The Lewis family have made it clear they want success but Frank has warned it will “not be a quick fix” and believes he will get the chance to make improvements.

Tottenham face Liverpool on Saturday which is then followed by a trip to Crystal Palace on December 28 and the spotlight will be on Frank. Fans will be expecting an improvement in performances and results while the players must show they are behind the manager.

Frank was snubbed by Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven when he tried to get them to go over to the Spurs fans after the Chelsea defeat last month. Spence threw down his coat in frustration after being substituted at Forest on Sunday and that will certainly not help to convince onlookers that the dressing room are fully behind him.

Tottenham slumped to a dismal 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with the pressure on Thomas Frank increasing, despite only arriving at the club in the summer

Another week, and another Premier League manager feeling the heat. Last week it was Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who has ended a tricky week with successive victories to lift the mood at Anfield.

It's a different story for Tottenham and Thomas Frank however. Their dismal 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday sees Spurs marooned in the bottom half of the table with just one win from their last seven Premier League matches.

The manner of the defeat at The City Ground has piled the pressure on Frank, who only arrived at the club from Brentford during the summer. But supporters are growing increasingly concerned at the direction of travel under the Dane, with a section now calling for a change in the dugout.

Spurs face Liverpool next, before a tricky looking trip to Crystal Palace rounds off their 2025. But with fans turning and issues with players in his squad, can Frank survive the long cold winter?

We asked our team of writers to give their verdict on whether Tottenham should sack their second manager in six months and accept their mistake before it's too late....

John Cross

Tottenham have to give Thomas Frank time. It would be a terrible mistake to pull the trigger before Christmas and not give a new manager an opportunity to turn things around.

Spurs have 22 points after 16 games which is one point worse off than at the same stage under former boss Ange Postecoglou.

But far worse is the style of football, a lack of entertainment and also identity. Having said all that, those are exactly the things that a new manager needs time to introduce. It was never going to be an overnight success.

Frank inherited a squad which had won the Europa League but was abysmal for most of last season. I thought the squad was better than it actually is. They need another transfer window - and quick.

It is so short on quality, character and fight. The meek surrender at Nottingham Forest was really worrying. But they are just four points off fifth place!

But who is out there to do a better job? Managers need time. Mikel Arteta went through a far worse spell at Arsenal. Even Manchester United have indulged Ruben Amorim.

Yes, Tottenham must improve. But Tottenham would be making a grave error by making yet another change this quickly into Frank’s reign.

Andy Dunn

Here is what big clubs do nowadays. Here is how elite football organisations operate. They stay classy. They trust their judgement.

Patience is the new knee-jerk. Hire-and-fire is old hat.

Tottenham Hotspur is a giant that has been hibernating for years and it will be a long job to properly raise it from its slumber. The idea Thomas Frank should be fired ten wins into his tenure is faintly preposterous.

After a good point at Newcastle United, Spurs beat Brentford by a couple and Slavia Prague by three before putting in a poor performance at the City Ground.

How can that be sackable form? Spurs are above Eddie Howe’s team in the Premier League table.

At worst, they will be in the play-off stage of the Champions League. Yes, they were pretty awful at Nottingham Forest. Yes, they have been very inconsistent.

But, including the European Super Cup. Frank has been in charge of 25 Spurs games and has lost only eight of them. To dismiss him would be ludicrous.

Neil McLeman

Tottenham have fewer points this season than after 16 games under Ange Postecoglou in the last campaign. And they were shockingly bad at Forest on Sunday.

But the North London club cannot keep chopping and changing - and Frank is a proven if limited Premier League boss who was interviewed by both Chelsea and Manchester United last year. Who would do better right now?

This should have been a season of relative stability under Frank after they finished 17th last season but won the Europa League under Big Ange. But beating his former club Brentford has been their only good result since October.

After the Forest defeat, Frank stated there is no “quick fix” and this is a pretty average squad of players assembled at great expense. Take out the injured Dejan Kulesevski, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Destiny Udogie and the team is even more ordinary.

A top six or seven finish - and European football next season - should be the ambition this season. If it doesn’t happen, it will not be just Frank’s fault.

Nathan Ridley

We've seen this film before haven't we? An up-and-coming manager overperforms in the Premier League and gets a long-awaited move to a bigger club, then it all falls apart.

For Thomas Frank and Tottenham, it does feel like the warning signs are there. Although Spurs are doing well in Europe, their Premier League form has left much to be desired and going out of the Carabao Cup so early, combined with a tricky-looking FA Cup tie, doesn't bode well.

But I'd stick with him. This is a manager who's been at a forward-thinking club in Brentford, has a track record of improving players and is capable of building a solid team out of possession - exactly what Tottenham lacked under Ange Postecoglou.

Of course, Frank needs to get more out of Spurs' attacking players but the eventual returns of Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison will no-doubt help with creativity. Spurs have tried every other profile of manager, so I'd stay the course for now.

Conor Mummery

After Sunday's dismal 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, Thomas Frank said: "If no-one gets the time, no-one can turn it around. This is not a quick fix." That may be true, and as many have pointed to, the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta both had tricky starts at Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, but were given the time and the money to turn things around. There has though, been no indication whatsoever that Frank is capable of the level of transformation that followed in both of those cases.

Tottenham have won just four of their last 14 games in all competitions, and there has been nothing in the majority of those performances to suggest results will eventually turn in their favour given time. Frank was brought in, largely, to stabilise a leaky defence. But Spurs have shipped 16 goals in their last five away games, and have looked just as toothless going the other way.

The last time Spurs recorded a lower points tally at this stage of a season was 2008/09, when they managed just two points from their first eight games under Juande Ramos. The club acted quickly and replaced the Spaniard with Harry Redknapp in October, and they need to act as ruthlessly this time around if they are to turn this season into a positive one.

Ben Husband

Thomas Frank is a good manager, what he did with Brentford was seriously impressive. But he's in the wrong place at the wrong time and both parties are better off just accepting that reality.

Setting up Brentford in the Premier League is a completely different challenge to doing so at Tottenham - and so far he has been found seriously lacking.

Yes, they are missing two of the most creative players in Maddison and Kulusevski, but their absences alone don't explain the tepid displays under their struggling boss. According to Opta, Spurs' average xG is at 0.96 per game, the 17th worst in the division and their worst since the stat began to be recorded (2012/13).

This all feels eerily similar to Nuno Espirito Santo's tenure in North London, a good manager, but a bad fit. Spurs accepted their mistake just four months into that reign, which ended in a desperate run of form not too dissimilar to their current malaise.

Frank will almost certainly go elsewhere and succeed, but that shouldn't stop Spurs from ripping off the plaster sooner rather than later.

Thomas Frank has come under pressure after Tottenham Hotspur lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest, but former Spurs striker Gary Lineker has urged fans to be patient

Gary Lineker has called for patience regarding Thomas Frank's future. The former Tottenham Hotspur striker suggests that only the club's board truly understands the level of pressure surrounding their head coach.

Increasing scrutiny follows another disappointing display and outcome at the weekend. Sunday's 3-0 thrashing by Nottingham Forest saw Spurs crumble under pressure, with Callum Hudson-Odoi netting twice before Ibrahim Sangare added the third.

Managing just a solitary shot on target throughout the entire match, supporters have grown worried not only about results but also the lack of attacking intent demonstrated under Frank's leadership thus far. That has placed the coach under early scrutiny from fans, who are demanding improvements in both performances and results in the coming weeks.

Former Spurs owner Alan Sugar even suggested that the board needed to fire Frank and replace him with Jurgen Klopp. Lineker, however, believes it is premature to question the Dane's future, arguing that only the ownership truly knows where he stands. On The Rest Is Football podcast, he asked: "Do you think Thomas Frank is under pressure or not?

"The truth is, when we say these things, only the owners know really, don't they? They've had a decent week, going OK in the Champions League, generally, but one or two good results, it's a bit up and down, isn't it? But it's like all these... You need time, don't you? You need time."

Micah Richards then added: "There are only four points between 12th and fifth. 26 points [Crystal] Palace are on, and Spurs are on 22 points. So you know you can have a good week. Around Christmas time, normally, obviously, it's more ferocious – only one game on Boxing Day, but normally around that Christmas period, you can change it around, can't you?

"And [Frank's] only four points off fifth place, where when we're making our predictions at the start of the season, Spurs are fourth, fifth, sixth, in that. So they're on track for where they need to be – I just think the fans are a little bit disappointed in the football that they are seeing, so that's where the pressure comes from."

Lineker highlighted the shift in approach from Ange Postecoglou to Frank, whilst also acknowledging their difficulties during the previous campaign. He said: "Well, they were very gung-ho with obviously Ange Postecoglou, weren't they? We did get entertaining games one way or the other. Whereas I think Thomas is probably more pragmatic in his approach."

"But I can't see why he would be under pressure at the moment. You've got to remember as well that Tottenham finished 17th last season.

"Now I know that towards the latter stages of the competition, there was obviously a clear priority, and that was the Europa League, but having said that, they still did finish in 17th place. It's way too early, really. You've got to establish yourself at a football club; he's not really had one window yet.

"He came in halfway through, and one or two transfers mostly fell through, didn't they? Morgan Gibbs-White, [Eberechi] Eze, who ended up going to Arsenal. So that was difficult before you start. So cut him some slack, surely."

Whilst the Premier League table remains congested at the summit, offering Spurs a route back into European contention, this hinges on them rediscovering their rhythm. Defensive lapses have proved problematic, whilst their blunt attacking display have only magnified these shortcomings.

The supporters are not the only ones feeling the strain, as Frank has disclosed his anger following the Nottingham Forest setback. He said: "I think I do everything to control my emotions.

"There is a hurricane inside me, because it's deeply frustrating we are not doing better (here) after three good performances. I think it is extremely important to be calm and measured and, of course, have very direct and clear messages.

"We will say it at the right time, so they're not in doubt of what I think. I'm very honest about where we are as well. I was also very honest – this was a very bad performance. No two ways about that, but also know that to change this, this will take some time. No one will want to hear about that. It's just reality.

"I think the ones who have followed the club and the team, it's fair to say there's been a few not too consistent performances, and that's the thing. We are working very hard."

Djed Spence was visibly unhappy after being brought off by Thomas Frank in Spurs' 3-0 loss away to Nottingham Forest, the second time that he's shown dissent towards his manager this season

Thomas Frank will speak to Djed Spence after the Tottenham star reacted angrily to being substituted during Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Spurs were thrashed at the City Ground to leave them with a record of just one win from their last nine Premier League games.

In November, 25-year-old Spence and team-mate Micky van de Ven were seen walking past Frank following their 1-0 loss at home to Chelsea, later apologising to their boss. Now the Tottenham full-back has found himself being accused of disrespecting Frank again.

After his number came up in the 59th minute, Spence was seen gesturing and shaking his head. Frank didn't see the moment but will speak to the England international.

"I didn't see it," the Spurs manager said post-match. "Of course I will look back to be aware of it. I think there can be three reasons.

"He can be disappointed with his own performance, the team's performance, he can be disappointed with being subbed off. I'll ask him about that."

Frank insists that he's the right man to turn Tottenham around, having only been in charge six months. Spurs are languishing 11th in the Premier League table approaching the halfway stage and they're already out of the Carabao Cup.

In the Champions League, however, one win from their final two league phase games will book them a place in the last 16. A calamitous first-half goal set the tone for Sunday's loss to Forest before Sean Dyche's side made it a rout.

"I think it's pretty evident that if no one gets the time, no one can turn this around," Frank said. "This is not a quick fix. Today was a very bad performance.

"No two ways about that, but also know that to change this, this will take some time. No one will want to hear about that, it's just reality."

Should Djed Spence be punished? Have your say in the comments section.

Frank didn't want to lay the blame on Guglielmo Vicario for the Tottenham goalkeeper's role in the opening goal. "No… I think you see that every week in the Premier League and from every team all over the world," the former Brentford boss explained.

"So there's no problem with that. Mistakes like that happen. When things are going against us we need to keep doing the right thing and keep our cool heads."

Spurs host Liverpool on Saturday in their final home game of 2025.

Tottenham struggled under Ange Postecoglou, but at least it was fun and entertaining. Under his predecessor Thomas Frank, Spurs have become turgid and inconsistent

Thomas Frank admitted that his calm personality hid a “hurricane inside.”

Sometimes it is probably better to show the people how much you care and how much it is hurting. Maybe he should have let his guard down at the City Ground.

At the moment, it should hurt for Tottenham. Three steps forward (a battling draw at Newcastle and back-to-back home wins against Brentford and Slavia Prague) followed by an almighty leap backwards with a shocking defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Shocking? The performance was. You have to admire Spurs for laying out free scarves for the travelling fans. That sort of thing is a nice touch. But it quickly gets forgotten amid the chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the Forest fans.

And there is no doubt how much Frank cares. The Tottenham fans are - and perhaps this is being generous - divided on Frank. The football is not very good, the home results have been woefully inconsistent. And the players are hardly helping either.

Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario has such poor body language. Throwing his arms in the air in frustration as if it is always someone else's fault but his own.

That was why Spurs fans were so upset with him and booed him after a howler against Fulham. Vicario was at the centre of two big moments at Forest, the second of which he is throwing his arms up in the air after being beaten by Callum Hudson-Odoi’s long range cross shot.

But the first one is just woeful. This is not about playing out from the back. This is about a straight pass from the keeper. That is what Vicario did and he played Archie Gray into trouble.

It was on Vicario. Not Gray. Vicario should be playing a pass at an angle. It is basic. There should be a law against a straight pass from the keeper. The keeper has landed his teammate in a right old mess. It was shocking.

Djed Spence threw a tantrum when he came off (hurling a jacket to the ground when he was substituted). These moments undermine the manager - and it is the last thing he needs.

Yet still Frank keeps his calm. Maybe he needs to lose his temper in a public show for the fans. You can file the Forest defeat under the really bad performances against Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham and Bournemouth. Wolves even. And that was a draw.

Frank desperately needs to find some consistency. Even if is just in terms of level of performance. You cannot go from battling 2-2 draw at Newcastle to lame, meek woeful surrender at Forest in such quick succession.

Equally, the club must back Frank in the next transfer window. The squad is not good enough. They are crying out for a new keeper. They have got an assortment of nearly men forwards who look as if three should be traded in for one decent striker.

They desperately need Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski back. That will make such a difference. But we are into Ange Postecoglou territory there: bemoaning injuries and missing players.

At least Ange Ball was fun and entertaining. Plus it delivered a trophy. Going from that to inconsistent turgid football is a big ask.

But Frank must be given time to show if he is up to the job. It is a big ask to step up from Brentford to Tottenham. And at the moment, the gap looks too big. It is Frank’s job to prove otherwise.

Tottenham Hotspur are struggling and former part-owner Alan Sugar wants the club to sack Thomas Frank and bring in former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to replace him

Former Tottenham Hotspur part-owner, Alan Sugar, has urged the club to sack Thomas Frank and bring in ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The Spurs boss is facing mounting scrutiny following Sunday's 3-0 thrashing at Nottingham Forest, which extended Frank's disappointing run in north London.

The Dane arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Brentford over the summer, but fans have grown increasingly frustrated with the team's playing style and dismal home record. Tottenham have managed just two league victories at home this season and languish in 11th place in the Premier League table after Ibrahim Sangare and a Callum Hudson-Odoi double secured victory for Forest at the City Ground.

The pressure is intensifying on Frank, whose side trails the top four by six points - the position that guarantees automatic Champions League football next term. Sugar, who served as Spurs chairman for nine years in the 1990s, has called for the club to consider a managerial shake-up.

The 78-year-old has advocated for Tottenham to appoint Klopp in place of Frank. He said: "With the massive fortune of the Lewis family, it would be a win-win situation if they hired Jurgen Klopp in January.

"Loads of money for players and a great manager. Who agrees?"

Sugar's hopes of seeing Klopp at the Spurs helm may prove futile, though. The German departed Liverpool at the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign after almost nine years in charge - stating he no longer had the energy for such a demanding role.

The ex-Dortmund and Mainz gaffer has made it abundantly clear that he has no plans to return to the dugout. He's also adamant that managing another English team apart from Liverpool is a non-starter, even if he were to reconsider his decision to retire from management.

"I said I will never coach a different team in England. So that means if [he returns] it's Liverpool," Klopp revealed on the Diary of a CEO podcast.

"So yeah, theoretically it's possible. I love what I do right now, I don't miss coaching. I don't. I mean I do coach, just different, not players. And I don't miss it.

"I don't miss standing in the rain two-and-a-half, three hours. I don't miss going to a press conference three times a week, having 10-12 interviews a week. I don't miss that.

"I don't miss being in the dressing room in the sense that I don't have it often enough. I coached 1,080 something games. So, I was in the dressing room very, very often.

"I'm 58, that's from your perspective, old from the other side, it's not that old. That means I could make the decision in a few years. I don't know. [If] I had to make the decision today, I won't coach again, but thank God I don't have to do that. I can just see what the future brings."

Thomas Frank and Djed Spence haven't always seen eye to eye this season and there was another flashpoint involving the pair in Sunday's defeat at Nottingham Forest

It was another day to forget for Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank on Sunday. The London side lost heavily at Nottingham Forest to increase the pressure on the Dane, whose relationship with defender Djed Spence came into focus once more.

Spence and fellow defender Micky van de Ven appeared to snub Frank after a defeat to Chelsea earlier in the campaign. Both men apologised personally to the boss, but there was another flashpoint involving Spence at the City Ground.

As reported by BBC Sport, the latest episode came when Spence was substituted by Frank around an hour into Spurs' defeat. He is claimed to have appeared to question the decision when leaving the field after his number came up.

Spurs were 2-0 down at the time thanks to a brace from Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi. Ben Davies took Spence's place in a triple change, with Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall also entering the fray, but it mattered little as Ibrahim Sangare added a third for the hosts.

Defeat leaves Frank's team in the bottom half with just 22 points from 11 games. Forest, meanwhile, moved five points clear of the relegation zone with their victory.

Spurs winger Mohammed Kudus delivered a brutally honest assessment after the defeat. "Not good enough. A very disappointing result," the Ghanaian said. "We didn't create enough today, including myself. We need more effort in our all-round game.

"To win a game in the Premier League is very difficult. We need the same input every single day. We lacked that. We needed to do more. The final quality, including myself, some of the decisions we took today was a bit in a rush. We need to pick it up and focus on the next game."

Next up for Spurs is a league meeting with Liverpool on Saturday. They follow that with London derbies either side of the turn of the year, away at Crystal Palace and then Brentford.

Fans on social media voiced their frustration at Frank's substitution during and after the Forest reverse. "Davies coming on for Spence has been an awful call by Thomas Frank," wrote one, while another said: "Frank is seeing this diabolical [Pedro] Porro performance and decides to take Spence off instead" and a third said "I can't wait to hear Frank explain how [Davies] for Spence and [Palhinha] for Bentancur were gonna help us at 0-2 down!"

While some have called for a change of manager, others have been less trigger-happy, with one writing: "I still think Frank should be given time. Build and use our best players when they are back fit. But Frank needs to be a little serious!"

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank is looking to rectify Spurs' home Premier League struggles when the Europa League winners host his former employers Brentford on Saturday afternoon

Thomas Frank admits he's felt the weight of extra pressure since swapping Brentford for Tottenham. The Dane, who spent nine years bossing the Bees, knows only victory will do today against his former employers.

After almost six months in his new role in N17, he concedes the period of adaptation has not come without stress. Frank said: "Definitely, definitely I’ve felt that.

"It hasn’t surprised me because I knew that was the difference when I walked into it. But like anything else, you don’t know it before you’re standing in it. Like really know it. So now I know it's ‘okay, it’s like this,' and then we deal with it."

The 52-year-old tactician has now won just eight of his opening 22 matches in the Tottenham hot-seat. Additionally, his side have picked up just one sole victory - on the first day of the season against Burnley - from seven Premier League home encounters.

Frank actually boasted a better points-per-game ratio at both Brentford and Brondby and he's now acknowledged that he's still yet to determine his strongest Spurs XI.

When quizzed on whether that was the case, he replied: "Yes, I think it’s fair. I’ve got an idea of quite a few positions but I also think there’s competition so it's not that easy all the time to say 'okay, it's just those 11' because you need more than 11 players.

"Normally you see most teams find their strongest team and it will usually be those nine players all the time and then maybe change two, sometimes it's 10."

At Brentford, Frank was used to playing just once per week, occasionally twice but he would regularly oversee a full week of training.

Saturday's contest will represent Tottenham's fourth game in just 11 days and the gruelling festive schedule only gets tougher from here on in.

In his view, the fixture pile-up is the toughest challenge he's had to navigate since moving across the capital.

He continued: "I think the biggest difference obviously now is the amount of games, I think that’s the biggest thing, the short turnaround.

"Of course I experienced it during Covid, we had 21 games in a row, that was Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday and so on. With a lot of travelling, that’s heavy.

"Nailing the message, nailing the team and all that bit, how you create a side that should be more and more in sync when you also need to rotate, that's the challenge."

Tottenham have no fresh injury concerns ahead of hosting Keith Andrews' side after Destiny Udogie and Brennan Johnson both came through unscathed following small fitness worries at Newcastle.

Spurs are looking for their first win in six in all competitions. Only Wolves (one) have claimed fewer home points in the Premier League this term.