Tottenham reveal why Thomas Frank chosen over 30 other managers in 10-point checklist

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Evening Standard

·17 June 2025

Tottenham reveal why Thomas Frank chosen over 30 other managers in 10-point checklist

New Spurs boss hailed as “outstanding developer of young players” after impressive seven-year stint at Brentford

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Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has revealed that Thomas Frank saw off significant competition from more than 30 other candidates to succeed Ange Postecoglou as manager as he explained details of the extensive hiring process.

Spurs turned to Frank as their new boss last week, paying London rivals Brentford £10million in compensation as they confirmed his appointment just days after making the difficult decision to sack Postecoglou a little over a fortnight removed from their first major trophy success in 17 years in the Europa League final.

Tottenham had been linked with an array of other managers with the future of Postecoglou having long been in serious doubt despite that triumph in Bilbao amid the worst Premier League season in the club’s history, including Fulham’s Marco Silva, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Oliver Glasner, FA Cup winner this season at Crystal Palace.

Former Spurs favourite and current USA national team manager Mauricio Pochettino, ex-midfielder Scott Parker at Burnley, Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi were among some of the other names mentioned in connection with the role in the press.

However, Frank was seen as the clear top candidate to succeed Postecoglou, with Daniel Levy having praised the Dane as “highly intelligent, a great communicator and super human being” who also ticked all of the necessary technical boxes.

Appearing alongside the chairman in a new joint-interview with Tottenham’s in-house media team posted on Tuesday, Venkatesham has revealed exactly what went into the exhaustive but swift search to identify the ideal new manager as he also explained what gave Frank the clear edge.

“We ran a really, really thorough process at speed,” said former Arsenal chief executive Venkatesham, whose own shock appointment in the newly-created CEO role at Tottenham was exclusively revealed by Standard Sport back in April.

“We defined 10 characteristics that we think are important to be a successful manager at Tottenham Hotspur. We analysed in real detail through our technical staff led by [technical director] Johan (Lange), more than 30 candidates.

“We had a shortlist, we spent a lot of time with the shortlist, and Thomas was absolutely the number one candidate. I could not be more excited to have him join the club.

“I agree with everything that Daniel said around his characteristics. Personally, one of the things I’m really excited about is he’s an outstanding developer of young players. I really look forward to seeing what he can do with the squad that we have here.”