The Japan Times - Frank accepts 'boring' jibes from Spurs fans after Brentford stalemate

Frank endured a bittersweet return to west London as he was granted a warm welcome by Brentford supporters before Tottenham's travelling fans turned the air blue with their criticism of the Dane.

After seven years with Brentford, guiding them to promotion to the Premier League in 2021, Frank was making his first return to the Gtech Community Stadium since joining Tottenham in the close-season.

Applauded before kick-off, Frank was even presented with a gift bag by one Brentford fan.

But that was about as good as it got for the beleaguered 52-year-old as his troubled first season with Tottenham took another turn for the worse.

Frank's side failed to muster a single effort on target until stoppage-time and their fans chanted "boring, boring Tottenham" in the second half, while singing the names of several of the club's players from their more entertaining recent teams.

"It seems the fans are not too satisfied and that's fair," Frank said.

"Not a top performance but overall it's two-sided; acknowledge the defensive side of the game, but of course the offensive side needs to be better."

Tottenham are languishing in 12th place at the halfway point of the Premier League season as Frank struggles to make a positive impact.

His conservative game-plan is a stark contrast to the club's 'to dare is to do' ethos and the attacking philosophy of his predecessor Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou was sacked to make way for Frank despite ending the club's 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League last season.

The Australian also struggled in the Premier League in his second season with Tottenham, but Frank is already testing the patience of the north London club's demanding fans.

Tottenham's one shot on target came in the closing moments, but Richarlison's finish was as limp as his team's performance as it flew into the arms of Bees keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

The stalemate brought to an end Tottenham's 137-game run in the Premier League without a goalless draw.

His unconvincing defence of Tottenham's spluttering display against Brentford will hardly win him many converts from the doubters.

"The positive is we were going here against a very good home team who you need to respect, and keeping them at a low amount of chances. I think that's a very strong defensive performance," Frank said.

"The amount of unforced errors is the biggest negative. We made too many mistakes. When we were up there we lacked the cutting edge on the day."

T.Ueda--JT