Thomas Frank: How long can the Tottenham coach survive the FA Cup loss to Aston Villa?

Frank stuck to what the improvement has offered, telling BBC Match of the Day: “The second half is one we grab going forward. That’s what we’d like to be. Energy, intensity, playing forward, aggressiveness. We were in control and creating chances.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal which would have given us an extra chance in extra time. It’s always about trying to combine two good halves – that’s the goal.”

In the wider context, this was another bad day for Frank and Tottenham, a club that always has high FA Cup aspirations.

Tottenham ranks 14th in the English Premier League and is now out of this competition. Frank does not have the faith or support of many fans, meaning this was the last day of disappointment for the head coach.

The reaction at half-time was extremely toxic. At least the second half saved Frank from a repeat in the end. It was more sweat than style, but not enough to make up for the glaring shortcomings and shortcomings of the first half.

The brawl involving both teams’ players and staff drew attention from the disappointing reaction from the local support – Spurs were not happy with Villa’s celebrations in front of their cheering fans, especially Ollie Watkins in close proximity to Joao Palinha, who then clashed with Rogers.

“I think this is good passion,” Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven said. “But we shouldn’t bring this passion only when we are behind.”

“If we started a game like this, it would be a completely different game. We were nowhere close in the first half to achieving what we did in the second half. We need to do that for the full 90 minutes. And then we will be a completely different team.”

“We have gone through a lot of ups and downs. We have many matches where we play at a good level, and there are matches where we are far below our level. This is what we need to work on and be more consistent.”

Frank did not have much good luck except for the difficulties he faced, as striker Richarlison suffered a hamstring injury while chasing Villa defender Ezri Konsa in the first half.

Last week, Tottenham also lost Mohamed Kuddus, Lukas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur due to muscle problems.

“I’m frustrated,” the Danish coach told Match of the Day. “The fans were amazing in the second half. That unity together – the fans, the players – everyone was full of energy and feeding each other off.

“We need to think about how we can come out with enough intensity and passion, and how the fans can push us forward in periods when we are a little behind, which will come in every football match.

“We are facing a very difficult period. We need to regroup and keep trying to put two good halves together with very good intensity.”