'We had them exactly where we wanted them' - Thomas Frank reacts to Tottenham's collapse in Super Cup defeat to PSG

In Udine, Spurs looked like a side reborn under Frank. Micky van de Ven’s opener and Cristian Romero’s thumping header put them two clear and on course for a statement victory to kickstart the Dane's era. For almost the entire night, the Parisians, dripping with attacking firepower, were shackled. The plan was working to perfection: disciplined defending, aggressive pressing, and lethal set-pieces.

However, in the final quarter, Tottenham succumbed. Lee Kang-in halved the deficit with ten minutes left, and Goncalo Ramos landed the sucker punch in the dying stages. From that moment, the psychological tide turned, and PSG were merciless in the shootout.

Frank, visibly pained yet proud, admitted they had the game in their grip before it all unravelled. 

"I think we played a very good game against one of the best teams in the world, maybe the best," Frank told TNT Sports. "We had them exactly where we wanted them for 80-somethimg minutes until 2-1. Then it shifted the momentum but I'm so proud of the team, players, club and fans. We showed we can be adaptable and pragmatic. 

"We needed to be that against a team like PSG, with the way we wanted to defend with both high pressure and a low block. The first half was almost perfect and the set-pieces were very dangerous. In one game, I think we have shown we can play against any team in the world. I'm not in doubt about that and that's a positive to take away from this."

Spurs’ attacking edge came from the training pitch. Frank had sent his players through an intense warm-up focusing almost entirely on dead-ball situations, and it paid off spectacularly with both goals. 

“It was a special operation,” he explained. “In medical terms, the operation succeeded but the patient died, so not that good in the end. But we worked on a game plan that was a little bit different and very close to succeeding.”

The Super Cup may have ended in heartbreak, but the message from Frank’s Tottenham was loud and clear: they’re here to challenge. Burnley will be the first to find out whether this new-look Spurs side can transform frustration into fuel when they are hosted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.