Frank Backs Romero After Captain's Swipe at Spurs Hierarchy

Tottenham's hierarchy came under fire from their own captain on the back of a damaging defeat, only for Thomas Frank to circle the wagons and shield Cristian Romero from the fallout.

The Argentine defender aired his frustrations on Instagram following Spurs' 3-2 reversal at Bournemouth, taking aim at the club's decision-makers. Romero suggested the board only materialise "when things are going well, to tell a few lies," and lamented that others should be stepping forward during difficult periods—a situation he claimed had persisted for years. The post was later amended, but the damage was done.

Within 24 hours, Frank faced the press ahead of Saturday's FA Cup clash with Aston Villa and was inevitably quizzed on the outburst. Rather than throw his skipper under the bus, the Spurs manager offered a measured defence.

"I think after Cuti became the captain he's done a lot of good things right," Frank explained, referencing Romero by his nickname. "Even though he's an experienced player and has tried a lot, he's still a young leader. I'm very happy with his performance last night—he was a true captain in many ways throughout the game."

Frank highlighted Romero's half-time intervention when Tottenham trailed 2-1, encouraging teammates to maintain belief and standards. However, the manager acknowledged that young leaders occasionally misstep, and suggested keeping such matters private was preferable to social media outbursts. He confirmed that sporting director Johan Lange and himself had already spoken with Romero that morning.

The intervention comes as pressure intensifies on Frank himself. Spurs sit 15th in the table with the fourth-worst run of form in the Premier League, and speculation is rife that another defeat could cost him his job.

Yet Frank remained defiant about his side's trajectory. He pointed to their past five matches—against Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Sunderland, and Bournemouth—as evidence of consistent, competitive performances that deserved greater reward than the five points accumulated.

"Those five games should have given us more than the five points we got, probably eight, nine, 10 points," he said. "And if you get that from those games, it's different."

Frank accepted the weight of scrutiny that comes with the territory, insisting he would shoulder responsibility for results. Yet he urged patience, framing the current predicament as a test of character rather than a death knell. "In a storm, some are building fences and hiding behind it, others are building windmills and getting stronger and getting more energy and learning from it," he concluded.