Despite doubts over his future, Thomas Frank will be in the dugout for Tottenham Hotspur as they prepare a depleted squad to take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Spurs go into the match without a win in their last five outings, however an impressive 23-game unbeaten record in home European matches may offer manager Frank the relief he and his skeleton squad desperately need.
A 2-1 home defeat to West Ham United placed serious jeopardy over the 52 year old’s future, with the Lilywhites 14th in the Premier League, but Frank insists he is up for the fight and has had no indication of disgruntlement with the powers that be.
Frank said: “I’ve been feeling the trust along the way. I’ve said that in every press meeting, there is backing and support.
“I know its part of the media circus and the only focus I have is to do everything I can for us to win tomorrow against Dortmund.”
Whilst the home record in Europe glistens for Spurs, tomorrow’s opponents pose a tougher challenge than that of the previous 23, having only lost three matches all season to top sides in Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Bayer Leverkusen.
Not only is current form against Frank, availability for the match is few and far between, with just 11 outfield senior players available as the Dane claimed “When it rains it pours.”
Frank said: “We have 11 [outfield] players available and we maybe have three players that need to push massively to get through 90 minutes physically.
“That’s why we need everyone to support us. And we want them to support us from minute one. All of us.”
One player Frank has chosen not to call upon is Mathys Tel, who has been once again dropped from the Champions League squad to accommodate the return of Dominic Solanke.
Fabrizio Romano has reported Tel and his camp are ‘not happy at all’ with the decision, which does come as a surprise given the 20-year-old is fully fit and available rather than working back from a five-month absence like Solanke.
Frank said on the decision: “I think Mathys has done very well in the last couple of games and that’s the crazy thing, if I could pick from all the players that are fit, then he would start tomorrow. But I can only pick between the two of them and now he is out of the squad. That’s of course a tough one to take for Mathys.”
Other new absences for Frank include Micky van de Ven (suspended), Connor Gallagher (unregistered) and Ben Davies (injured).
Both Spurs and Dortmund come into the match with identical records so far in the Champions League group format on 11 points, with Dortmund one place higher on goals scored.
The match is live from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on TNT Sports 1 at 8pm on Tuesday 20th January.