of Thomas Frank Tottenham The reign ended.

After less than eight months in charge, the Danish head coach has been relieved of his duties in north London.

The decision comes after Spurs suffered another Premier League defeat, this time in 2026. Newcastle at homeExtending their winless run in the top flight to eight games and pushing them to 16th in the table.

With only two Premier League After wins in his last 17 outings, and averaging 1.16 points per game during his tenure, Frank’s position was untenable.

Like previous managers at the club, he went out in a fiery blaze, giving a stunning post-match interview in which he blamed injuries for Tottenham’s struggles in 2025-26.

In Frank’s words, he said: “It’s easy to point the finger at me but I also think it’s never just the head coach or the ownership or the directors or the players or the staff.”

Apparently, the board, particularly Vinay Venkatsham and Johan Lange, did not take that statement on board and will now spend the next few days searching for a successor to the former Brentford boss.

But what was the biggest factor in Frank’s departure, and what must Tottenham do now to get themselves back on track?

We dive deep into the biggest issues inside a fractured dressing room.

Play the Tottenham way – or not

Tottenham fans are very adamant about playing a certain brand of football. Ange Postecoglou’s entire appointment centered around his front-foot approach, but Frank’s arrival marks a step back from that philosophy.

As a result, Frank’s focus was mostly on the opposition and instead of working on their own objective of causing damage, it immediately became difficult to buy into the culture, with how Spurs could nullify them.

On the pitch, the approach was more defensive than fans expected, especially after the head coach promised an aggressive, attacking team in his first press conference last summer.

After a few weeks of timidly approaching matches against inferior opposition, frustrations erupted on social media and eventually inside the stadium.

With an average of less than 50% possession per game and struggling to create any meaningful chances, fans’ frustrations quickly turned to anger, culminating in the loudest chants and chants directed at the manager in Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle.

Spurs have been one of the biggest overperformers when it comes to expected goals (xG) in the Premier League this season, perhaps the biggest sign of all that what Frank promised on his first day was never going to become a reality.

Stubbornness in the media

One of the biggest factors in Tottenham fans wanting Mauricio Pochettino back at the club is his relationship with the fans.

While some may argue that he had the greatest Spurs side of the Premier League era, he was always on the side of the supporters when facing the public.

That stretches back to last week, when he was quoted on the High Performance podcast as saying he is keen to return to the club and get them back to the level he feels Tottenham should be competing at domestically and in Europe.

For Frank, that relationship never materialized. His constant snipes at the fanbase in his press conferences only dragged down his reputation, and comments suggesting fans were partially to blame for his players’ poor performances were not well received.

In fact, his words had the opposite effect. As he continued to drum up support inside the stadium, the boos grew louder, and echoes of ‘it’s magical, you know’ (referring to Pochettino) became more frequent.

Undoubtedly, Spurs fans have high standards and expectations, hence why the constant pining for Poch stretches seven years after his departure.

But if you want to really succeed in N17, you need to give the crowd something to get behind. Unfortunately for Frank, neither his character nor football was up to scratch.

A never-ending injury crisis

It would be remiss not to name Tottenham’s increasingly worrying injury crisis as a factor in Frank’s failure.

The Lilywhites were without 11 senior players for the defeat to Newcastle, including James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohamed Kudus and several other big names.

Spurs also lost Wilson Odobert on the night, and are without captain Cristian Romero for another three matches, after he was sent off for the second time this season against Manchester United.

Any manager standing in the dugout will struggle with the situation the club currently finds itself in. Missing so many influential figures is unprecedented, and even worse than the injury Ange Postecoglou suffered last term.

North London’s top brass have already overhauled the medical department over the past few years, but problems with injuries appear to be linked to the club itself.

Frank indicated in his final interview that the number of unavailable players made it impossible to compete in all competitions, with the club still active in Europe but once losing sight of their domestic targets.

Back in the summer, Venkatasham claimed that Frank was appointed with the intention of competing on all fronts, which has failed spectacularly.

With 12 now missing from their ranks, Tottenham’s available side are not a team that should be flirting with relegation.

A failure in the transfer market

Tottenham backed Thomas Frank in the summer transfer window. The club spent £180 million on incomings, including a powerful winger in Kudus, as well as a creative outlet in experienced head Xavi Simmons in Joao Palhinha.

But in January, a more critical window given the club’s short-staffing problems, Spurs settled for the arrivals of Souza – a 19-year-old defender who barely spoke a word of England – and Conor Gallagher.

While Gallagher may have been a good signing in isolation, bringing in another midfielder who fit the same profile as the club already had in their ranks was simply poor decision-making.

Sporting director Johan Lang sat down and reflected on the January window in an eight-minute video in which he claimed to have opted for a long-term strategy, with clubs more willing to move for players in the summer rather than targeting short-term fixes.

The planning team at Hotspur Way may have realized that, but less than two weeks after the window closed, a lack of depth may have proved the final nail in Frank’s coffin.

Where do Tottenham go now?

So, the cycle continues at Spurs and they are once again on the hunt for a new manager, however, the big question is who can fix this huge mess?

A lot of the blame will rightfully be placed on the manager, but the issues run deeper than that. The players are finally underperforming, and while Frank may be gone, there is a huge run between now and the end of the season that whoever comes will need to navigate with the ultimate aim of avoiding relegation.

The obvious choice is Pochettino, who reports so far suggest Spurs see him as the perfect appointment, but with his USMNT commitments and a home World Cup on the horizon, that dream may have to wait, even if only for a temporary period.

Spurs can appoint an interim manager between now and May, but risk falling further into the grip of the bottom three if they don’t hit the ground running.

Alternatively, they could look for a permanent manager immediately, with Roberto De Zerbi now available, along with some other big names such as Xavi and Xabi Alonso.

It’s a big decision, but those at the top must get it right; Otherwise, Spurs could pay the ultimate price and face relegation in what would be one of the biggest moments in Premier League history.