Thomas Frank desperately needs a performance from his stalled Spurs team

"Welcome, then, to another of those Spurs weeks, where the executives are deeply concerned and it is impossible to ignore the sense of foreboding. The 4-1 derby humiliation at Arsenal on Sunday ensured the club are playing a game of crisis-baton hot potato with Liverpool and surely the last thing that the manager, Thomas Frank, needs is a Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night."

"Plainly, a heavy defeat would be less than ideal given that Spurs have been bad more often than good since the end of September after an encouraging start to Frank's tenure. He and the players will see an opportunity to take steps, whether big or small, towards what they believe is their true level. They will remember how they pushed PSG all the way in the European Super Cup at the start of the season, losing on penalties."

"Teams are supposed to prefer playing on their own turf and yet it is a long way from looking like the case for Spurs, certainly in the Premier League, the competition that matters the most in the boardroom, the one that dictates the manager's job security. It was not Frank's fault that he inherited a squad that had won two, drawn three and lost nine of the previous 14 home league games under Ange Postecoglou."

Executives are deeply concerned after a 4-1 derby humiliation at Arsenal that intensified fears and left the club sharing a crisis with Liverpool. A Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain offers a possible free hit, but a heavy defeat would compound problems after poor form since the end of September despite an encouraging start to Thomas Frank's tenure. The home fixture against Fulham casts a long shadow because Tottenham have struggled at home in the Premier League, the competition most influential for managerial security. Frank inherited poor home records and has so far failed to drive improvement, with a W1 D2 L3 record and a low point in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea when players were booed off and the expected-goals figure hit 0.05, the league's lowest.

Read at www.theguardian.com