Frank needs to spark signs of progress from stalled Spurs

PSG are sure to be formidable opponents, but Saturday's game in front of unhappy home crowd looms large

- David Hytner

Welcome, then, to another of those Spurs weeks, where the executives are deeply concerned and it is impossible to ignore the sense of foreboding.

The 4-1 derby humiliation at Arsenal on Sunday ensured the club are playing a game of crisis-baton hot potato with Liverpool and surely the last thing that the manager, Thomas Frank, needs is a Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow night.

This is not the greatest worry because it is just about possible to paint the game against the European champions as a free hit. Even in the best of times, nobody would have expected much from Tottenham there. With two wins and two draws from four matches they can afford to lose this one.

Plainly, a heavy defeat would be less than ideal given Spurs have been bad more often than good since the end of September after an encouraging start to Frank’s tenure. He and the players will see an opportunity to take steps, whether big or small, towards what they believe is their true level. They will remember how they pushed PSG all the way in the Uefa Super Cup at the start of the season, losing on penalties.

What is casting the long shadows and sending chills everywhere, is the home game against Fulham on Saturday. Teams are supposed to prefer playing on their own turf, but it is a long way from looking like the case for Spurs, certainly in the Premier League, the competition that matters the most in the boardroom, the one that dictates the manager’s job security.