Dortmund win buys Thomas Frank some time. Now he and Spurs must show it’s not a one-off – The Athletic

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium felt like a different place on Tuesday night.

Tottenham Hotspur looked like a different team from the one that folded against West Ham United just three days before. The players looked happier, sharper and more confident. Thomas Frank, who orchestrated a 2-0 win against a flat Borussia Dortmund side, suddenly looked like a far better manager. And the crowd, so mutinous and angry on Saturday, were positive and supportive throughout.

Put it all together and it was the polar opposite of Saturday afternoon here against West Ham, a day so miserable and so painful that it felt like the end of the world. And to many people — although this proved not to be the case — the end of Thomas Frank at Spurs.

But sitting here this evening watching Tottenham beat Dortmund, overwhelming them with intensity in the first half, being roared on by the crowd, it was almost as if Saturday had never happened. There was almost none of the negativity or toxicity that swamped this place on Saturday and has swamped Spurs this season.

There was something quite unfamiliar about the way that Spurs set about Dortmund in the first half. Even with so many missing players, with Dominic Solanke making his first start of the season and Djed Spence starting on the left wing, Tottenham began with energy and purpose. They actually started well against West Ham on Saturday, remember, but they lost confidence when West Ham scored the opening goal.

But this time Spurs scored the first goal through Cristian Romero, and then the second via Solanke, giving themselves a two-goal lead for the first time since they beat Slavia Prague here six weeks ago. For Tottenham fans, this was the first time this year — the first time in nine games — that they have been able to breathe.

Dominic Solanke put Spurs two to the good (Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)

When the Tottenham hierarchy decided after Saturday to keep Frank in charge and not to give the angry crowd what they wanted, they were effectively taking a risk. They were betting that the West Ham game was a one-off — both in terms of the performance and the furious scenes at the end, when Frank was booed and fans chanted for his dismissal.

If it were a one-off, and performances and results started to improve, then over time, it might be forgotten as one awful day at the office. But if it was repeated, and Frank faced another vocal mutiny, then it would be impossible for them not to act. And their decision would look like a disaster.

These were the stakes being played for this evening, more significant in a sense than the three Champions League points on offer. Another night of toxicity, one that forced the club into a rethink on the manager, would have seriously dented their credibility.

But in reality, this was one of the least toxic, most positive atmospheres that Spurs have played in all season. In that sense, it could not have gone more to plan for Frank or for the hierarchy. When his name was read out before kick-off, there was a slightly mixed reception but nothing especially negative. As soon as the football began, the home fans got behind the team. Helped by the noisy Dortmund fans, the atmosphere was better than on Saturday.

For years at Tottenham, there has been a debate about how to improve the atmosphere, and whether the team needs to play better at home, or whether the fans need to support the team more to help them to do so. Many fans have argued that if the team simply attacked and played positive football, their support would be loud and clear. And so it seemed here as Spurs tried to play a brisk game, quite unlike many of their home games here this season.

Given Spurs’ many absences, it was especially impressive how the available players knuckled down. Xavi Simons, making his fourth straight start for Spurs, delivered his best performance, always getting on the ball, driving forward with it, playing some brilliant passes and getting shots off. More than anyone else, he was able to catalyse the energy of the crowd. When Frank said afterwards that the “energy between the fans and the players was magic”, it sounded more true of Simons than of anyone else.

Xavi Simons exemplified everything good about Spurs last night (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The second half was largely a flat affair, with 10-man Dortmund getting back into the game and Spurs never quite sure whether to sit back, keep the ball or try to get a third on the break. There were a few nervous moments, not least when Guglielmo Vicario took too much time on the ball, but nothing remotely comparable to some of the scenes we have seen here this season. And even when Dortmund flashed a few good crosses into the box, it never felt like Spurs would not win.

This is a good win for Spurs in the context of the Champions League league phase, opening up the possibility they may not even need the ‘punishment round’ to get into the last-16. But the debate all week has been about Frank’s future, and this win will also mean a lot for him. The issue with the modern Champions League is that the resource gap — and therefore the quality gap — between the English teams and the rest is so big that too many of these games become non-contests. Spurs have now won all four home games in this competition, a total contrast with their miserable home league form.

The next big test, the next referendum on Frank’s future, is Burnley away in the Premier League this Saturday. That is where Spurs will have to prove again that they have a method that works, that they can keep moving in the right direction. If they lose there, then all of the debates and criticisms from the weekend will come flooding back. Spurs’ miserable league record will be held against the manager.

But another positive result at Turf Moor and people may even start to wonder whether Saturday was the one-off after all.