Thomas Frank says Spurs 'desperate' for wins and Cristian Romero 'needs to learn' after red card vs Man Utd
"There's no doubt we are desperate to win games, desperate," said Thomas Frank ahead of Tuesday's home game with Newcastle; Tottenham are winless in seven Premier League games and sit six points above the relegation zone
Monday 9 February 2026 15:19, UK
Thomas Frank said Tottenham are "desperate" for wins as they prepare to face Newcastle in a crunch Premier League match on Tuesday night.
Spurs' winless run in the league was extended to seven games by Saturday's 2-0 loss to Manchester United.
Their last Premier League victory came on December 28 when Archie Gray scored to seal a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park - and you have to go back to December 6 for their last home win in the league, when they beat Brentford 2-0.
Similarly, their midweek opponents are without a win in four league games.
"There's no doubt we are desperate to win games, desperate," said Frank.
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"There should be that feeling when we haven't won enough.
"The way I work - we're all different - is that if you haven't won enough, you do everything you can and you actually do a little bit more and you work a little bit harder. You just know that's the way to get out of tough moments.
"That's what I expect from players and I actually think that's what I see from the players. They run very hard and that's why I'm so annoyed we couldn't get anything out of the Manchester United game.
"I'm convinced, if it had been 11 vs 11, we would have got something out of it.
"We haven't won enough - you need to be desperate, because if you're not desperate you don't understand the situation you are in.
"That's what we want for the fans, that's what we want for the team, the club."
The Dane side-stepped a question on whether Tottenham are in a relegation battle, with just six points currently separating them from 18th-placed West Ham.
"I'm focusing on Newcastle tomorrow [Tuesday]," he said. "That's a great opportunity ahead of us against a good team.
"That's the main thing. Can we go out there and get three points tomorrow? That will be very good and then climb from there. Look forward, that's what we need to do. That's the main focus.
"I think we have [the quality to get out of this situation]. There are a lot of players out and that, of course, never helps.
"But I think I actually put a very competitive team out against Manchester United and we looked good for the first 30 minutes.
"We lost two players for tomorrow [Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie], but Djed Spence is back and [Radu] Dragusin looked good when he came back in.
"I know we'll put a very competitive team out tomorrow as well and then there should be hopefully a few more coming back after that, but let's see."
Frank: Romero needs to learn from red card
Frank was asked whether Spurs captain Romero is a leader or a liability following his red card against Manchester United.
"We spoke enough about Romero in the last press conference," said Frank. "For me, he's a leader. I've said it before, he's a young leader, learning every day.
"I used the example that, when I was 30, thought I was top of the world - I was nowhere near the level I am today, in terms of leadership and understanding things.
"When you have a player playing with so much passion and aggression, sometimes, things like that can happen.
"That's not to say he should not learn from it. Of course he needs to learn from it going forward."
Udogie set for another month out; Kulusevski return date unknown
Frank also confirmed Udogie is set for another spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
The 23-year-old - who missed December with a hamstring injury - had featured in Spurs' last three games, but came off after 55 minutes in the defeat to Manchester United.
"Unfortunately, Destiny has a hamstring injury, so he's out for the next four to five weeks," Frank said.
He also provided updates on Kevin Danso and Dejan Kulusevski.
"Kevin met the consultant. Going forward, it's still weeks before he's available," he said.
"[Kulusevski] has got another appointment at the end of this week where we will know more.
"But he's out of the Champions League squad, which is a sign that it's not tomorrow."
Asked if Kulusevski could return before the end of the season, Frank added: "I don't know."
