Frank's dream move ends in nightmare as Spurs pull plug

Feb 11 : When Thomas Frank took the reins at Tottenham Hotspur in June, there was genuine belief that the popular Danish coach could rejuvenate the side, but eight months on he is another casualty in the graveyard of managerial ambitions at the London club.

As Spurs hovered five points above the relegation zone amid their worst run of form in 18 years and the fans jeered the manager after every draw or defeat, the board decided to pull the trigger and put Frank out of his misery on Wednesday.

Frank had arrived with a reputation for clarity and cohesion after making Brentford a mainstay in the Premier League, a team that regularly punched above their weight in a league famous for being unforgiving to promoted sides without vast resources.

But the step up from successful mid-table management to the pressure cooker of Tottenham proved a bridge too far for the Dane.

WEIGHT OF EXPECTATION

Frank arrived with the weight of expectation and an impatient fanbase that had witnessed Ange Postecoglou's squad drift away from the rest of the 'Big Six' in the Premier League.

But under Frank, the numbers tell their own bleak story as Spurs dropped to 16th in the standings with just 29 points from 26 games, unable to stamp an identity on a squad that had, only months earlier, won the Europa League.

They suffered 11 defeats, seven home losses and registered only two home wins in 13 league matches.

An eight-game winless run - the club's worst since Spanish manager Juande Ramos was escorted out in 2008 - created a tense and hostile atmosphere at Spurs games.

Postecoglou was dismissed despite delivering the club's first trophy since 2008 because their league form was anaemic.

Frank was meant to improve their league form without sacrificing the upward