How can Thomas Frank turn around Tottenham Hotspur’s ailing fortunes?

The sound of boos has become commonplace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in recent times. Even still, the soundtrack of disgruntlement after Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday was particularly loud, highlighting just how unhappy the club’s supporters are with the current situation.

Tottenham have played worse in previous matches this season than they did against Villa. The first half was a non-contest as the visitors took a two-goal lead. The second half, however, was more competitive as Spurs responded positively. They put Villa under some pressure towards the end.

Nonetheless, the significance of this loss was unavoidable. Last season, Ange Postecoglou was able to explain away Tottenham’s dismal league form by pointing to their success in the cup competitions. This season, Spurs are out of the domestic cups and will struggle to make a deep run in the Champions League.

All the things that kept Postecoglou in employment last season are quickly ebbing away for Frank. Tottenham have now won just one of their last seven fixtures in all competitions and are slipping further down the Premier League table. Now sitting 14th, the North London outfit are going backwards.

Frank clearly isn’t solely to blame for the situation Spurs find themselves in. This is a team that finished 17th last season. And a club that forced out Daniel Levy as their long-serving chairman amid complaints over his running of Tottenham Hotspur on and off the field. Spurs have been in disarray for a while.

And yet Frank has become a target too. His conservative approach is grating on supporters who wish their team would be bolder and more aggressive in going toe-to-toe with opponents. Spurs rallied somewhat against Villa on Saturday, but there have been countless other matches when they have accepted defeat with a whimper.

While Frank’s Brentford team were known for their rapid counter-attacks and set piece threat, his current Tottenham side have no repeatable methods of finding the back of the net. Their midfield is incapable of progressing the ball forward while Spurs are lacking in the wide areas, particularly after the sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace.

It should be noted that Tottenham are currently saddled with a long list of injury absentees. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have yet to play a single game this season, leaving Frank with a dearth of creativity through the centre of the pitch and into the attacking third. The pair has been desperately missed.

Dominic Solanke came off the bench against Aston Villa, but has missed the last four months of action. Without Solanke available, Frank has had no choice but to field Richarlison as his leading number nine. The Brazilian has his uses, but doesn’t do a lot to facilitate Spurs in possession.

Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, Pape Matar Sarr and Mohamed Kudus have also missed significant chunks of the season through injury, depleting the Tottenham Hotspur squad to the point that Frank has had no choice but to lean on players like Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert to plug the gaps.

The January transfer window is open and Spurs might do some business. Conor Gallagher is reportedly a target and could arrive from Atletico Madrid to give Frank another option in the centre of the pitch. The North London club might also make a move for a new wide attacker.

Spurs, however, have deeper issues than this. This is a club lacking direction. There is no vision for what Tottenham Hotspur should be as a club and a team in the future and so if Frank is to lose his job he will do so as a symptom of the problems being suffered in North London and not a cause.