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Thomas Frank said he wanted to take Tottenham Hotspur to “new heights” during his first press conference on Friday as the club’s manager.
The 51-year-old Dane joined from Brentford after Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou after the Australian guided Spurs to Europa League glory – their first major trophy in 17 years – but also presided over the club’s worst top-flight campaign since 1976/77.
But while Frank was generally upbeat about his desire to improve upon Spurs’ dismal 17th-placed finish in the Premier League that included 22 defeats in 38 games, he made no guarantees over the future of Son Heung-min and was guarded concerning the club’s pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White.
He did confirm club skipper Son and vice-captain Cristian Romero, who have both been linked with a move away from Tottenham during the transfer window, would feature in Saturday’s friendly at Reading.
But Frank added he had yet to decide on the captaincy, despite Son skippering Spurs to their Europa League final win over Manchester United in May.
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“Two top players, Sonny, been here 10 years, finally got his his well-deserved trophy in the summer, so important for the team and the club. Cristian Romero, World Cup winner, Europa League winner, Copa America winner, very, very important for us as well,” said Frank.
He added: “I haven’t decided anything on that (captaincy). I have a long list of bullet points I need to get through and I take them in the right order.
“He (Son) was the captain last year and when we play two 45s (halves of 45 minutes each) tomorrow, Son and Romero will be the two captains, but I haven’t made a final decision.”
As for Gibbs-White, Tottenham were thought to have triggered the £60 million (AU$123 million) release clause in the England midfielder’s contract at Nottingham Forest.
But Forest have accused Spurs of contacting Gibbs-White directly before going to the club and his future remains uncertain.
“I will not speak about players who are not mine,” said Frank. “I think I have two exceptions and they are getting older — (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi.”
Frank joked he only came to Spurs to be sacked. He also guaranteed they will still lose matches, which was followed by a mention of the unbeaten 2003/04 campaign enjoyed by Arsenal, Tottenham’s arch-rivals.
“One thing is 100 percent sure, we will lose football matches,” he said.
“I haven’t seen a team that is not losing any football matches. There is Arsenal, that we can’t mention, in the Premier League. So I made my first rookie mistake there!”
He added: “I have the privilege of I have never been sacked before. That is one of the reasons why I took the job. I get a little bit more risk in my daily life.”
Frank, however, paid tribute to Postecoglou’s time at Spurs by saying: “First and foremost, I have said that before, Ange will forever be a legend here at Tottenham. He is one of three who has won a European trophy and the first in 41 years. Unbelievable, fantastic achievement.”
It is now nearly 65 years since Spurs were last crowned champions of England, winning both the old First Division and the FA Cup in the 1960/61 season.
“Going into a new season and in football, it’s about dreaming and hoping,” said Frank.
“That’s what we do.
“I’ll do everything every day to work towards hopefully taking this club to new heights – that’s the ambition.”