Thomas Frank Confirms Summer Reset Away from Management
Thomas Frank draws a line under this summer. The former Tottenham and Brentford manager has made it clear he will not return to the dugout before next season, deciding instead to step away and reset after a turbulent spell in north London.
“This summer is not the right time,” he told BBC Sport, a simple sentence that will close the door on a number of clubs who had quietly been circling.
Frank lasted just nine months at Spurs. Appointed in June, gone by February, he walked into a club desperate to reassert itself and walked out with back‑to‑back 17th-placed finishes on his record. From the outside, that reads like failure. Inside the club, he insists, the story felt very different.
In a statement, the 52-year-old Dane spoke with the measured tone of a coach who has had time to cool off and think. He revealed he has already turned down chances to jump straight back in since leaving Tottenham.
“There have been conversations and opportunities since leaving Spurs,” he said, “but I have decided not to rush into the next role.”
Crystal Palace had him on their shortlist as they weighed up successors to Oliver Glasner. Fulham have also been linked with him as they explore their own options. Both will now have to look elsewhere. Frank’s decision is firm: this summer is for reflection, not for touchlines and technical areas.
Leaving Tottenham, he said, has allowed him to step back and take stock of a career that has moved quickly in recent years, from building Brentford into an admired Premier League outfit to the intense glare of Spurs.
“Football management is a profession that demands complete commitment every single day,” he wrote. Time away, he added, is “a rare opportunity to assess, learn and gain a fresh perspective.”
That perspective includes a surprisingly warm view of the club that let him go. Results were poor, the pressure relentless, yet Frank still talks about Tottenham as a place with substance and potential rather than just a bruising chapter on his CV.
“From the outside, it may have looked like a time of many challenges at Tottenham when results were not what we wanted,” he said. “From within, however, it becomes clear why the club is so special – full of talented people who work tirelessly every day. I have no doubt Tottenham has a bright future.”
For now, Frank is swapping the training pitch for the studio. He will be part of BBC Sport’s World Cup punditry team and will also work for Danish television. He plans to study, to observe, to learn from other leaders inside and outside sport, and even to take in the Tour de France.
“Football remains a huge part of who I am,” he said, but he wants to use this pause “productively”, spending time with family and friends while broadening his outlook beyond the dugout.
This is not retirement. It is a reset. Frank is clear that he will return to management, but only on his terms and only when he feels fully recharged.
“When the time is right,” he said, “I will look forward to my return as a manager, ready to embrace the job with great energy and dedication.”
The offers will come again. The real question is which club will be ready when he decides the time is right.
