Thomas Frank praised for his ‘human side’; Tottenham boss continues to win over Spurs stars

Joao Palhinha makes a telling admission on Thomas Frank

Joao Palhinha has now spoken about life under Frank at Tottenham. The Danish tactician used to manage the 30-year-old’s rivals Brentford when he was playing for Fulham. But even when he was competing against the 51-year-old’s Brentford side, the defensive midfielder could tell that Frank was great in man-management skills, a coach with a “human side”.

“For me, I followed Thomas at that time from outside because I didn’t know him. I never met him before. I just played against him when I was in Fulham,” Palhinha told about Frank on Sky Sports’ One on One podcast.

“But when I was looking at him, he always looked like a coach with the right human [side].

“For me, now that I’m sharing the pitch, these moments with him, for sure, that is his best quality.

“Apart, of course, [from] the other tactical really good things that he has. But the main for me, and the most important thing in the coach, is to be a real human being, like to be a great person, I think is the main thing probably that coach needs to be, need to be the best quality and make easy for us to players to speak, not just with him, but each other, the environment inside of the club.

“I think it’s a really good thing that not just me, but also my teammates have felt since he arrived.”

Tottenham looking to make Palhinha’s move permanent

It has not taken much time for Palhinha to become a key cog in Frank’s project at Tottenham. The Lilywhites of the last few years were lacking such a presence at the heart of their midfield, and Palhinha has not only added stability to the team but also given license for the creative players to express themselves more.

As a result, it should not come as a surprise for anyone attached to our club that the north Londoners are planning to make the 30-year-old’s stay permanent. Spurs do not want to wait until the end of the season to begin talks with Bayern Munich and are willing to conclude negotiations in January. They want to trigger the £27m buy option in the Portugal international’s contract.

Now the idea to sign Palhinha on loan from Bayern with a buy option looks like one of the best business Spurs have pulled off in recent memory.