Thomas Frank hails Tottenham 'desire' in hard-fought win at Crystal Palace

The contest in south London lacked quality for long spells, with Spurs forced to defend deep and absorb pressure for much of the second half. Archie Gray's close-range header before the break proved decisive, and Frank made it clear that the way his players protected that lead pleased him most.

Speaking after the final whistle, the Tottenham head coach accepted that it was not a polished display but stressed that results sometimes mattered more than style.

"Sometimes you need those margins to help you a little bit, and that could have helped massively in a tight game," Frank said. "In the end, we got over the line. The team showed great resilience today and I think the desire beat the details in the game, the desire just to win."

Frank highlighted his side's discipline, particularly in dealing with Palace's threat on the counter-attack.

"I liked the discipline in the team, the way we gave very few transitions away which is the threat of Crystal Palace," he said. "The discipline to not give those away was good because that is what they want."

Tottenham were without captain Cristian Romero, who was suspended following his red card against Liverpool, but Frank was full of praise for the defensive effort in his absence. Kevin Danso stepped in and played a key role as Spurs kept a clean sheet.

"We defended excellently, we gave maybe one chance away in open play and the rest was set pieces," Frank said. "In such a tight game to get the 1-0 win and a clean sheet, in a performance that is not perfect, is a massive thing."

Frank also pointed to the collective spirit shown by his squad.

"They fight and they battle because they want to be a good team," he said. "They fight for each other, for the club, the staff, the fans most importantly. I liked the character and mentality in the team today.

"There is so much to improve, but you need to have that in the Premier League, especially away from home."

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