Tottenham: Thomas Frank hails ‘never-say-die attitude’ after comeback against Man City
It was a spirited second-half showing from Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank hailed the “never-say-die attitude” of his players after Spurs fought back from two goals down to rescue a point against Manchester City in the Premier League.
In an entertaining clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo gave City a commanding lead going into the break, before a Dominic Solanke second-half brace – including a spectacular scorpion-kick goal – saw a spirited Spurs take a share of the spoils.
The result will do little to ease pressure on boss Frank and co., who find themselves languishing in 14th, while for Pep Guardiola’s side, the draw opens up a six-point gap between them and league leaders Arsenal in the title race.
After the game, Frank highlighted the mentality of his team as the reason for how they were able to get back into the tie.
Asked if that second half was the most important 45 minutes of Spurs’ campaign so far, Frank told Sky Sports: “I don’t know if it was the best but there are always big 45 minutes throughout the season.
“I think that the character and mentality of the players showed. How at half-time we still stayed calm.
“We made changes, we tried to install belief. And how they [the players] went out second half and come back in a situation where it’s fair to say we are not in the best place, that just shows everything about the group.”
The Spurs boss insisted his players’ mental strength was nothing new, but admitted he was pleased with how they turned that into a positive result.
“That never-say-die thing, they have shown that for quite a long time now. But we got the result now, which is big.,” Frank said.
“What we try to do is create that never-say-die attitude and where we are resilient and respond well to set-backs which I think we’ve shown a few times.
“That inner belief they came with, that was big. All the players showed a fantastic attitude.”
Spurs are in the midst of a tricky few weeks of fixtures. They are next in action on Saturday, when they travel to Old Trafford to face an in-form Manchester United team seemingly rejuvenated under interim boss Michael Carrick.
That is followed by games against Newcastle and their north London rivals Arsenal.