Thomas Frank’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur from Brentford will come with a backroom shake-up as Spurs prepare for a post-Ange Postecoglou era.
According to The Times, the Danish head coach wants to bring a close-knit group of his trusted lieutenants to north London, and Justin Cochrane is at the top of that list.
Brentford’s head of performance, Chris Haslam, and analyst Joe Newton will also make the cross-city switch, while Andreas Georgson will join from Manchester United as an assistant coach.
Cochrane’s reputation precedes him thanks to a fantastic three-year spell as Brentford’s assistant first-team coach.
He added international experience to his already impressive resume when he agreed to join Thomas Tuchel’s England staff earlier this year.
During his playing days as a defender, Cochrane featured for Queens Park Rangers, Gillingham, and Millwall, among others, before hanging up his boots in 2010.
For the past 15 years, he has held coaching roles at Tottenham and Man United, where he eventually became head of academy coaching and player development.
He also worked with England’s Under-16s and U17s before joining Brentford in 2022.
Brentford were seriously considering the 43-year-old as a successor to Frank, but he wanted to continue his partnership with the Danish tactician at Spurs.
Tottenham are revamping their coaching staff, with only assistant Matt Wells and goalkeeping coach Rob Burch expected to remain at the club from the Postecoglou era.
Mile Jedinak, Nick Montgomery, and Sergio Raimundo have all followed Postecoglou through the exit.
Tottenham’s backroom reshuffle has been welcomed by some familiar faces, including Christian Eriksen, who played under Frank during a brief but successful spell at Brentford in 2022.
He believes his countryman is a perfect fit for Tottenham’s ambitions.
“I think he is the right coach for Tottenham,” Eriksen said. “It would be great if Thomas takes on that challenge [given] his personality, his way of playing and his way of being.
“And the club, considering where they were last season — they won a trophy, of course — but they are in the process of building something up, and I am sure that Thomas is a good man to bring in.”