Thomas Frank thinks 'disappointed' Tottenham player took a 'step forward' against Copenhagen

Thomas Frank believes on Tottenham player took a ‘step forward’ on Tuesday night when Spurs defeated Copenhagen 4-0 in the champions League. Spurs needed the win after back-to-back draws in the competition, and they are now on eight points from a possible 12, likely putting them just three or four points off landing a play-off spot, while they are still very much in the mix to progress without a play-off.

Spurs also needed to bounce back from a home defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League, and they did so in style, with four different scorers on the scoresheet. Brennan Johnson - who was later send off - Wilson Odobert, Micky van de Ven and Joao Palhinha all scored.

One player who didn’t score was summer signing Xavi Simons, who has had a slow start to life in North London, but the Dutchman did step up his progression with an assist against Copenhagen, and Frank was pleased with what he saw.

"I will say two things. One, I think that was a step forward today,” Frank began. “I'm very happy for him. I think it was a good assist and I agree with you. A little bit more sharpness for him and the other players. I think he probably had one more assist. I think he found good pockets, good spaces.

“I'm really pleased with that. Of course, I understand his disappointment in the moment, but it's always about the team, of course. At that stage, it's 2-0. We are still building layers in this team. I think it's obvious that we are progressing forward, but are not where we want to be. In that situation, we just take no risk and put a more defensive player in. Which afterwards, of course, looks to be an absolutely top decision - but you never know!"

Asked what he said to Simons when he took him off just after the hour-mark, Frank added: “I don't know, I didn't say too much. Of course, everyone wants to play, and he saw the opportunity to maybe play a little bit more. It's just at that point, at 2-0, you don't really know, so I thought 'ok we do a little bit more defensive', swapping Joao, so that's why we did it."

Frank also responded to whether the win could be a turning point for Tottenham after poor home form this season. He said: “I would say it was a step forward in terms of how we want to play. Of course, assist and goals for some of the offensive players and also good performances, also the structure was good today."

Your next Tottenham read, Frank admits Spurs player is 'not fully firing' after Copenhagen rout