'My first rookie mistake!' - Thomas Frank sees funny side of hilarious gaffe at first Tottenham press conference after praising Arsenal achievement

Frank took his first press conference in charge of Spurs on Friday, where he was asked a range of questions on the job at hand in north London. The Dane was brought in as a replacement to Ange Postecoglou, who won the Europa League last season but oversaw a 17th-place Premier League finish.

After over six fantastic seasons in charge of Brentford, Frank was sounded out by Spurs as the ideal successor to Postecoglou. When he took the Bees' head coach job back in 2018, he was relatively unknown on English soil, though has since forged a reputation as one of the savviest tacticians in the game, and is well aware of the pressure he now faces as a known quantity.

When asked if he is under more pressure at Tottenham because of his notoriety, Frank replied: "It's natural, it's a good pressure, the interesting thing is not when you are in it. It's something I've done for many years. I'm very aware it's a big club, there will be more scrutiny."

Frank then relayed a message he gave to the club when he took the Spurs job, but in the act of doing so accidentally praised north London rivals Arsenal for going unbeaten during the 2003-04 season: "As I said to the staff on the first day here, I promise you one thing, one thing is 100% for sure - we will lose football matches. I haven't seen a team not losing any football matches. There is Arsenal, that we can't mention... so I made my first rookie mistake there! Then there's Preston [in 1889], and those are the only two teams."

Though Frank is prepared for his team not to be perfect and has accepted they will lose games, he will be hoping not to taste defeat in 22 Premier League matches just as Postecoglou did last season. Frank was, however, full of praise for the Australian and the legacy he's left.

"Ange will forever be a legend here at Tottenham. One of only three who have won a European trophy here and the first in 41 years," he said. Frank added he has not spoken to Postecoglou since replacing him at Spurs.

Tottenham will kick off their pre-season campaign on Saturday away at Reading. They will then travel to Luton Town before heading to Asia to face Arsenal and Newcastle United.