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Thomas Frank appointed new Tottenham head coach to succeed Ange Postecoglou

  /  autty

Tottenham have appointed Thomas Frank as their new head coach.

The Dane has signed a contract until 2028 and leaves Brentford after seven impressive years in charge to succeed Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs sacked the Australian despite winning the Europa League to end the club's 17-year trophy drought.

Frank takes over a side that endured its worst-ever Premier League campaign last season as Tottenham finished 17th after suffering 22 defeats to record just 38 points.

But despite their domestic woes, Spurs will be competing in next season's Champions League after Europa League glory, meaning Frank will manage in Europe for the first time in his career.

The 51-year-old can also win the first major silverware of his career in his first competitive game in charge of the north London club, with Spurs taking on Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13 in Udine, Italy.

Frank's appointment comes nearly a week after the dismissal of Postecoglou, which was "one of the toughest decisions" the Spurs board had to make after the ex-Celtic boss had won the club's first European trophy in 41 years.

Frank was the Spurs board members' number one managerial target to succeed Postecoglou, with no second or third-choice options.

The ex-Brondby boss took over at Brentford in 2018, earning Premier League promotion three years later with Championship play-off final victory at Wembley and has established the Bees as a top-flight club despite their small budget.

Frank departs Brentford to become the fifth permanent manager in six years appointed by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2019.

Frank reunites with Spurs chief Lange

Frank's switch sees him reunite with Tottenham technical director Johan Lange after the pair worked together in Denmark at Lyngby, and they have known each other for many years.

Frank was in the mix for the Aston Villa job while Lange was sporting director at Villa Park.

Data forms a huge part of the work Lange does at Spurs in terms of recruitment, and the data on Frank is understood to be strong.

He has had Brentford performing way above their budget and resources in each of the seasons they have been in the Premier League.

Since guiding the Bees to top-flight promotion in 2021, Frank has overseen finishes of 13th, ninth, 16th and 10th in their four Premier League seasons.

After they recovered key players from injury last season, Brentford surged up the table and almost finished in a European spot as they ended 10th, seven places and 18 points above Spurs.

Could Semenyo or Mbeumo become Frank's first signing?

Before Frank's appointment, Sky Sports News reported Tottenham had stepped up their interest in Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo.

Manchester United also remain admirers of the 25-year-old despite having a bid rejected for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo - a player also on the list at Spurs.

Sky Sports News understands Frank would be keen to sign Mbeumo - but it is ultimately Spurs as a club that decide which players to sign.

Levy and Lange call the recruitment shots, with the returning Fabio Paratici also having a say, so Frank's arrival does not necessarily make a move for Mbeumo inevitable.

In fact, Sky Sports News understands Spurs have recently done more work on Semenyo.

Flexible Frank can add layers to Angeball - but Spurs move a gamble

Sky Sports' Sam Blitz:

When you sit down with Thomas Frank for a one-on-one chat or in a press conference, you always get honesty and insight rarely seen in the game.

For this journalist, the most recent meeting with the Dane was no different. It was late April for what turned out to be Frank's final one-on-one chat with Sky Sports as Brentford's head coach. Given that context, there was one line that stood out.

"We've got patience at Brentford, which is a word that you probably can't say in football. I think you need to have it," Frank said.

Frank's appreciation of patience makes his move to Tottenham a career gamble.

He arrives at a club where Postecoglou's shadow, success and popularity loom large in the fanbase.

Frank also enters a Spurs dressing room where players went public in their support for his predecessor. "Him continuing would be good for the dressing room," said Pedro Porro about Postecoglou, while James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray all backed the Australian for a third season.

It begs the question: what do Spurs see in Frank - who has no experience managing Champions League football - that the popular Postecoglou could not deliver?

Lyngby boys: Frank and Lange reunite

Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

Frank and Lange have come a long way since the two men used to share a small office together back when they were part of the coaching set-up at Danish club Lyngby.

Speaking to Birgir Jorgensen in 2021, the man who hired them both over two decades ago revealed that these are two very different Danes. But the charismatic Frank and the analytical Lange also shared qualities. "Good people," Jorgensen told Sky Sports.

"Thomas is Thomas, he walks the talk. He has always been the same and will always be the same. He is very hardworking and always in a good mood. Johan is the opposite of Thomas, he keeps his cards close to his chest. But he is a fantastic guy, very smart."

Together in that office at Lyngby, ideas were shared and an unlikely coaching school developed, one that included future Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand. What exactly was it about Frank and Lange, about Lyngby, that has helped them all to flourish?

"I think we all have a common thing, we all believe in ourselves, we all know where we are coming from and none of us think we are something we are not. That is what has made us successful, good people who are working hard, being themselves.

"Lyngby is just an ordinary football club but we have a special environment. We are built on curious coaching. You can experiment here. Of course, we try to win our games and be champions. But we are always collecting good people, hard-working people.

"A lot of clubs believe only in serious people but you need a bit of yourself, a bit of social life. A football club is about teamwork, otherwise it cannot exist. That is why so many former Lyngby coaches are successful. We are happy about it and want it to continue."

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