Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is still in critical danger of losing his job despite the club’s decision to allow him to take charge of the upcoming fixture.
According to The Telegraph journalist Matt Law, Tottenham’s Lewis family owners and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham are considering their options after the shocking 2-1 loss to West Ham United.
Many expected the Danish manager to be sent packing after the shocking home defeat, but Tottenham decided against making a knee-jerk decision.
Frank was given a stay of execution for Tuesday night’s Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund. But anything other than a win will likely seal his fate.
The defeat against West Ham sparked outrage from the club’s fans. They made their position clear on Frank’s future by chanting “sacked in the morning” during the game.
Frank has confirmed that he had lunch with Nick Beucher, a member of the Lewis family ownership, Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange on Monday.
However, they offered him no assurance about his position, especially if Tottenham fail to beat Dortmund on Tuesday.
“I haven’t heard any situation like that in football where they say, ‘hey, mate, if you win tomorrow, no problem. If you lose tomorrow, no problem’,” Frank said.
“We had a good conversation about life and football, the future of the club, everything normal, like you do. Of course, there’s a little bit, how would we say, stormy weather out there.
“I just think it’s an extremely good sign, because normally people are running away if there’s bad news or bad weather coming, they’re normally not coming in and being friendly for lunch.”
Tottenham already lining up alternatives
Tottenham have already started preparing for the worst-case scenario. If Frank is sacked in the coming days, the plan is to appoint an interim head coach until the end of the season.
Spurs prefer to make a permanent head coach announcement in the summer and already have a few names in contention for the interim job.
Former Ajax manager John Heitinga recently joined Frank’s coaching staff, and his experience could land him in the dugout temporarily.
Tottenham could also turn to former midfielder Ryan Mason, who has been interim twice and is available after leaving West Bromwich Albion.
Meanwhile, the club have teased a stunning Mauricio Pochettino return as permanent manager.