Postecoglou Not Surprised by Tottenham's Dismissal of Thomas Frank

JAKARTA - Ange Postecoglou called Tottenham Hotspur's dismissal of Thomas Frank a fair departure.

Even so, he sympathized with the Danish coach because he had to work in an environment full of uncertainty at Spurs.

Frank left Spurs on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, after a poor performance in the English League that put the club in danger of relegation as they were only five points above the relegation zone, with only two wins in the last 17 games.

Postecoglou understands Frank's feelings better than most. That's because he was sacked by Spurs last summer before leaving Nottingham Forest after a 39-day winless streak at the start of this season.

"After being in that position twice in the last six months (fired), it's difficult. Then, you know that he (Frank) is not the only problem at the club, right?"

"That may be true for any manager, but in the end that is the benchmark for our assessment."

"Tottenham are a strange club, you know. They made big changes at the end of last year, not just with me, but also with Daniel's departure (Levy)."

"You've created this environment of uncertainty because there's no guarantee which manager you're going to bring in and which top-class manager is going to be successful," Postecoglou told The Overlap podcast.

While acknowledging that the dismissal was fair on the evidence, Postecoglou pointed to factors around Frank as unlikely to have helped him.

He also questioned the Spurs' thinking behind other changes.

"What is the reason for such a big change? So, Thomas came and what is his goal? What is the club's goal? At the beginning of the year they said, compete on all fronts."

"Well, the club has not competed on all fronts for a long time. You also know, the most influential person in the club (Daniel Levy) for the last 20 years will also leave.

"Now, does Thomas know he's going to face that? I don't know. It's a pretty far away departure from me," said the Australian coach.

When explaining why he thinks Spurs are a strange club, the former Celtic and Nottingham Forest manager said there was no clear identity with what the team had tried to do in recent years.

Meanwhile, the impact of the departure of star striker Harry Kane cannot be underestimated.

After Mauricio Pochettino left the club, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were the next two permanent managers appointed (before Postecoglou and then Frank). Their styles of play are very different to what was so successful for Pochettino in north London.

"If you look at the list of those names (managers), there is actually no common thread connecting what they are trying to do."

"At the same time, I think people have underestimated Harry's influence during that period. He's an incredible player."

"If I had Harry for the last two years, the first year we finished fifth. I'm sure we will finish in the Champions League zone."

"So, even his departure, you can't cover that void. It's impossible. So, when you look at those managers, as I say, they've moved on from Mauricio (Pochettino) as well and played a certain way."

"So, that's what I mean. It's really interesting to understand what they're trying to build? Who are they really?"

"All clubs are unique, all different, but when you go into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is that daring is doing."

"It's everywhere. However, their actions are almost the opposite of that. I think what they don't realize is that to really win, you have to take some risks. That's the DNA of this club," said Postecoglou.