Thomas Frank has labelled Ange Postecoglou a Tottenham legend while speaking in his first interview since being appointed as his successor at the club.
Postecoglou was sacked by Tottenham despite leading the club to their first trophy in 17 years after lifting the Europa League in May.
The former Brentford boss has since been confirmed as his replacement and is now eager to build on the “foundation” created by Postecoglou, as the Dane prepares for his first taste of Champions League football as a result of the triumph against Manchester United in Bilbao.
In his first interview with Spurs’ in-house media team, Frank thanked his predecessor for his work at the club and insisted he will “forever be a legend in Tottenham”.
“I think Ange has done something special. He’ll forever be a legend in Tottenham,” Frank said.
“It’s important to understand we all stand on the shoulders of others. I’m going in on the foundation Ange built, and his coaching staff, and I’m very humble about that. I’ll do my very best to continue the great work he put in.
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Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has spoken out about the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou and replace him with Thomas Frank (video courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur)
“The feeling, the excitement, the joy and the happiness in the fans’ faces, the pictures were ‘wow’. Hopefully, we can create more of those moments. That will be the ultimate dream: to do that and build on that.”
Despite finishing the interview with a nod to the past, Frank’s focus is firmly on the future.
The 51-year-old spent seven years at Brentford and was regularly linked with vacant Premier League roles, such as Manchester United and Aston Villa, throughout his time there, but has now gone into detail regarding why the job at Tottenham was so enticing.
Thomas Frank spent seven years at Brentford before joining Tottenham
Frank added: “It’s a good squad. It’s an exciting, massive club with massive potential. So, it’s just super, super exciting.
“I had very good conversations and meetings with [Daniel Levy, Vinai Venkatesham, and Johan Lange] where we discussed everything in depth – details about the club structure, processes – and of course I came with my views on things, how I saw it, my ideas, and the way I want to do things and how I try to build a team and a club.
“There’ll be ups and downs – right now, it’s a fairytale. Everyone’s happy, the sun is shining, it’s fantastic.
“We haven’t played one game yet. Hopefully, we’ll win a lot. We’ll work very hard every single day to make sure we create as many magic moments for the fans and put them together and at the end of the season, we’ll have had a very good season.”
Frank’s first competitive games in charge
Tottenham’s Premier League season opener against Burnley comes just three days after Spurs’ UEFA Super Cup match against Paris-Saint-Germain.
The game in Udine, Italy, on August 13 is Frank’s first competitive game in charge as the Europa League winners take on Champions League holders PSG.
The Dane then faces a daunting first away game as Spurs go to Manchester City the following weekend on August 23.
After a home fixture against Bournemouth on August 30, the next game will be Frank’s first London derby in charge as Tottenham visit West Ham on September 13.
