Thomas Frank will give his Tottenham squad Christmas Day off, but only because it fits in with their schedule ahead of Monday’s (AEDT) match away to London rivals Crystal Palace.
Frank’s warning to his players to be “grown-ups” comes as England’s Test cricket team is being investigated over concerns about excessive drinking during the Ashes series against Australia.
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Spurs have struggled since Frank replaced the sacked Ange Postecoglou and are 14th in the Premier League table following a run of five defeats in eight matches in all competitions.
The club’s form has led to a rising tide of anger among Tottenham fans, many of whom are already losing faith in Frank, and the 52-year-old’s decision to give his side Christmas Day off may not go down well with supporters.
But Frank, explaining the reason behind his decision, said: “This week we actually handle in the same way I would have done with any other week. If it was not Christmas, it was still done the same.
“So, we have two days leading to the game, day off, two days. So Tuesday and Wednesday, then off on 25th and then two days. Then it’s perfectly fit the Christmas family schedule, which is very good.
“I’m a big believer of being a top professional and that’s something I believe the players are and should be. Some need to be guided more than others, but also they are grown-up individuals.
“If I need to hold their hand the whole time, we have a bigger problem in my opinion.”
Frank’s comments come as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is “establishing the facts” after a video appearing to show Ashes opening batter Ben Duckett drunk and slurring his words in Noosa went viral.
The video emerged just hours after England managing director of cricket Rob Key vowed to investigate claims of excessive drinking on the four-day break in Noosa.
The team went there after falling to a 2-0 series deficit in Brisbane, and they afterwards lost the Ashes series by falling to 3-0 with a defeat in Adelaide.
“If it goes into where they’re drinking lots and it’s a stag do, all of that type of stuff, that’s completely unacceptable. I’m not a drinker; I think a drinking culture doesn’t help anyone in any stretch whatsoever,” Key said.
“I have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach, all of that stuff … if it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned. That’s what we’ll find out.”
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Frank will be without captain Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons at Selhurst Park due to suspension in a fresh setback for the Danish coach.
But the former Brentford boss pointed to his spell at Brondby in 2013, where he recovered from a poor start to enjoy success over a three-year period, as an indication of how things could turn around at Spurs.
“I think I see a lot of similarities to my first head coach job,” he said. “Of course, completely different scale.
“This is, of course, a massive club. One of the biggest clubs in the world and so much focus on it, so that makes it of course bigger and a different challenge.
“But I see a lot of similarities when I had my first head coach job in Brondby and here where you try to build something over time.
“You inherit something that you need to try to get right with a lot of good people around me and then where this makes it extra challenging is that we play Champions League and Premier League at the same time.
“And we try to improve while we are driving 100 miles an hour, but that’s part of it. That’s a good challenge.”
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