Tottenham boss Thomas Frank clarifies Xavi Simons struggles ahead of Fulham game

Tottenham have won only three of their past 12 matches in all competitions and have conceded nine goals across their recent defeats to Arsenal and PSG. Their 5-3 loss in Paris at least brought signs of life in attack, but it also revived criticism from pundits, including former Spurs defender Ramon Vega, who said the team were "not brave enough tactically".

Frank made it clear that the outside noise does not trouble him.

"I have 100% not seen it, because I don't read anything," he said. "When I walked into this club, I knew we would lose football matches and I knew I would be criticised. I literally don't care what they say. I listen to the trusted people who know me."

Fulham visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday looking to take advantage of a Spurs home record that includes just three wins in 2025. For Frank, it is a contrast to last season, when his Brentford team were the Premier League's top scorers at home by the end of November.

"The team clicked then," he said. "Wissa, Mbeumo, Schade and Damsgaard scored 50 goals between them. We are working very hard to find that click again. I hope we see signs of it on Saturday."

Simons, a recent arrival from RB Leipzig for a fee of 51 million pounds, has produced two assists in 16 appearances but has not yet become a consistent starter. Frank said the 22-year-old is simply adjusting to the Premier League.

"Xavi has been fine," he said. "Coming into the Premier League for the first time is not straightforward. It is about performance. Whether it is Xavi, Wilson Odobert, Mo Kudus or Joao Palhinha, it is about what you give to the team for each specific game."

Frank emphasised that both attacking and defensive output dictate selection.

"Do you create enough? Do you play forward enough? Do you work hard enough without the ball? Can you press with the intensity we want? Those are the reasons we select players," he said.

Asked whether the Fulham match could give Simons a platform to explode, Frank agreed it could.

"That definitely could happen," he said. "We are thinking about how we break opponents down and how we get enough goalscorers on the pitch. In Paris it worked with two strikers. We know we are not the finished article."

Frank rejected any suggestion that he is a defensive manager, insisting that his approach has always been front foot.

"I want to play offensive, front-footed football," he said. "But across 30 years of coaching there have always been games where it did not work. It did not work against Arsenal. I was angry and hurt. In Paris I was irritated, but we competed. There was more of the identity I want."

With Spurs searching for fluency, Frank believes the breakthrough is close, and he hopes Simons can be a major part of it.

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