LONDON, Feb 11 — Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Thomas Frank after eight months in charge, the Premier League club said on Wednesday, after a woeful run of results left the north London club hovering five points above the relegation zone.

Pressure on Frank had been mounting, and Tuesday’s 2-1 home defeat by Newcastle United left his team in 16th place with 29 points from 26 matches, looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone.

“Thomas was appointed in June 2025, and we have been determined to give him the time and support needed to build for the future together,” Spurs said in a statement.

“However, results and performances have led the Board to conclude that a change at this point in the season is necessary.”

Frank, who joined Brentford in 2018 and established them as a top-flight club after gaining promotion, has struggled to replicate those methods at last season’s Europa League winners Tottenham.

The writing looked to be on the wall for the 52-year-old after Tuesday’s defeat by Newcastle United – their 11th of the league campaign.

‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’

Supporters left no doubt about their feelings with jeers ringing out around the club’s stadium and chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” directed at Frank.

It was Tottenham’s seventh league defeat at home in the Premier League this season, and they have won only two of their 13 league games in front of their own fans.

Tottenham supporters were also singing the name of former coach Mauricio Pochettino, who got them to the 2019 Champions League final, on Tuesday. The Argentine is currently manager of the US men’s national team.

On the field, the pragmatic Frank had been unable to give his side any real identity.

His popularity was not helped in January after he was photographed holding a coffee cup bearing the crest of fierce rivals Arsenal – an incident he later described as a mix-up.

Uneasy relationship with fans

His uneasy relationship with the fans also surfaced in November when he criticised them for mocking keeper Guglielmo Vicario after a mistake in the home defeat by Fulham.

Postecoglou was sacked despite winning the Europa League after Spurs finished last season one place above the Premier League relegation zone.

Frank was supposed to have built on that triumph, the club’s first trophy since 2008, and turn them into top-four challengers once again. But they have won only seven league games, albeit hampered by a long injury list.

Their current eight-game winless run in the Premier League is their longest since Juande Ramos was sacked in 2008 amid a nine-game winless run.

Despite Tottenham’s domestic woes, they have performed impressively in the Champions League, finishing fourth in the 36-team table to qualify easily for the last 16.

Frank was backed in January

The signs were that Frank was still being backed by the club’s hierarchy, with midfielder Conor Gallagher being signed in January from LaLiga side Atletico Madrid and former Liverpool assistant coach John Heitinga joining as his assistant.

But with no end to the club’s poor form in sight, Frank becomes yet another Spurs project on the scrap heap.

Spurs will have to dust themselves down quickly as they play a derby against North London rivals, and league leaders, Arsenal on February 22.

Lose that and the club could find themselves battling to avoid relegation for the first time since the 1976-77 season when they finished bottom. — Reuters