Thomas Frank confesses he's not exactly having a blast managing Tottenham right now, but he's looking forward to a time when he can view this tough period in a positive way.

With the team struggling, fans are getting on Frank's back. During the 0-0 draw with Brentford on New Year's Day, some traveling fans even chanted, Boring, boring Tottenham Hotspur.

The former Bees boss gets the fans' frustration. He's not thrilled with the team's current situation but believes the pain now will pay off later.

So, the quick answer is no, Frank said when asked.

Stepping back, it's a privilege to lead this great club during a big transition. I think someone said we've changed eight leaders at the top.

It's the most change in 140 years. But the potential is massive.

That's part of the deal. I'm excited to look back and see it as a huge learning experience. Right now, I'm embracing it.

Frank continued, When you're working hard and things aren't going smoothly, it's hard to enjoy.

For example, I don't enjoy running hard in the moment. But I know I need to push through to get fitter or win a race.

We need to dig in and get through this. Looking back, we'll see this time as a valuable lesson that made us stronger.

It's a marathon, for sure. It feels like I'm hitting some tough miles right now. But I'll keep my head down and keep going.

Frank knows Tottenham are seen as 'boring' as they try to find the right balance.

Fans are criticizing Frank's approach as Tottenham struggles to play the attacking style they crave.

It took until the 93rd minute for Spurs to get a shot on target against Brentford. Frank admits they need to improve their attack.

It's not perfect. We want to play freely. "I do want to point out some positives from the last two away games," he said.

We built a strong base defensively against Crystal Palace and Brentford. We were good at shutting down their attacks.

We're working hard and understand the disappointment. I feel it too.

We need to improve a few things. For instance, against Brentford, we gave the ball away 25 times due to simple mistakes.

I showed the players those 25 moments today. These are things we can fix. Football has mistakes. You lose the ball because of bad decisions, poor touches, or lack of focus.

So, that's one area to address. Next is improving our patterns, structure, and positioning. We didn't get that right last night. I showed that to the players today. It's my job, along with the coaches, to sort that out.

Third, we're missing some important attacking players. They've been out for a while. I don't want to keep bringing it up.

It's pretty boring, but it's the truth. We need to do everything we can to put on an attacking, intense performance against Sunderland in two days.

I'll do my best to make sure we do that. If we do and get three points, that's seven from three games, which is great.

Emi Martinez is getting a wake-up call about what it really means to be a modern goalkeeper, especially after his recent mistakes against Chelsea and Arsenal.

He’s been spending extra hours with Aston Villa’s coaches, trying to get better at dealing with high balls. Corners have been a problem—Villa have let in the first goal from set pieces in their last two games.

Villa did manage to turn things around at Chelsea, but Arsenal didn’t let them off the hook. They hammered Villa 4-1 and pulled six points ahead of Unai Emery’s team. Emery’s frustrated. He thinks goalkeepers just don’t get the protection from referees that they used to. He even joked that soon, keepers might have to be over seven feet tall—and maybe wear boxing gloves—to have a chance.

Emery said, “Maybe in the future we’ll need goalkeepers who are 2.2 meters tall. Maybe we need boxing gloves, too.”

He’s watching Martinez work with the goalkeeper coach, trying to keep up with the way football keeps changing. Referees look at these situations differently now. Usually, Martinez is strong in those moments—corners, long throws, all that. But when there’s pushing and blocking, referees are letting a lot more go. Emery’s seeing it in every game, even when Villa are attacking.

“At set pieces now, players are all over the keepers—pushing, blocking—and it’s not getting called as a foul. It’s getting harder. Sometimes two or three guys are blocking the keeper at once. That’s just how it is for every keeper right now,” Emery said.

He admits Villa can use the same tactics, but they’ve got to adapt and get sharper at defending those moments.

And you can bet Sean Dyche has been paying attention to Martinez’s struggles. Dyche brings his Nottingham Forest squad to Villa Park this weekend, with Simon Hooper set to referee. This won’t be an easy one for Villa’s number one.