Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has said he didn’t notice he was drinking out of an Arsenal cup ahead of the clash at Bournemouth, adding that it would have been “absolutely stupid” for him to do so.
Frank was pictured drinking out of a coffee cup that had the logo of Spurs’ arch-rivals Arsenal emblazoned on it ahead of their game on Wednesday.
The image was widely shared on social media, and when Frank was asked about it post-match he said: “It’s fair to say that not winning every single football match, it would be absolutely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal on it. Anyone thinking I’ve done that or the staff has done it …
“They’ve been in the changing room the game before us [on Saturday]. It’s normal to say ‘give me a cup of espresso’ before every game.
“I think it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question like that. We are definitely going in the wrong direction if we are worrying about me having a cup of another club. Of course I wouldn’t do that. That would be really stupid.”
Arsenal were the last visitors at the Vitality Stadium, registering a 3-2 win on the weekend. Nevertheless, the image of Frank with an Arsenal cup was poor optics for a Spurs manager who is facing scrutiny for his side’s performances.
Frank’s side’s 3-2 loss at Bournemouth courtesy of a late Antoine Semenyo strike means they’ve won just one of their last five Premier League games and languish in 14th in the table.
“I think it’s fair to say everyone involved in Tottenham, it’s a tough one to take today,” said Frank. “Hopefully everyone can see how hard we worked to get everything in the right direction.
“Overall the performance was good, especially the second half, in a game where we deserved to get more.
“That is extremely painful to be part of, so of course people are frustrated — that’s natural.
“It’s very tough to sit here right now and we haven’t got anything out of overall a good performance.”