Thomas Frank will lead Tottenham into their Champions League showdown with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

He’s set to face the press at 3:30 pm on Monday, and you can bet his future with Spurs will be the main topic. The pressure’s really piling on after that ugly home loss to West Ham. Fans booed him off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the mood around the club is tense.

Frank insists the board still has his back. But the truth? His job hangs in the balance. The club’s top brass is still weighing up whether to stick with him or look for a fresh start. Some senior players aren’t convinced by his approach either, and that’s not helping. Behind closed doors, the board’s been debating if Frank’s position has already become impossible.

Vinai Venkatesham, the CEO, is right at the heart of the decision-making. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the dressing room is, frankly, a mess. Some have even called it “toxic”.

After the West Ham loss, Frank didn’t hide from the criticism. He said, “Of course, I’ve probably had better times. It’s not the best moment, but I get it. I’m the manager, so the blame lands on me. That’s fair. No problem with that. As long as people back the players and push them forward, that’s what matters. We’ll keep fighting.

“If you’re not winning, the fans won’t support you. When we start winning again—and we will—the mood will shift. Today, we could’ve won 2-1. No excuses, but we’re down to the bare bones with injuries, and we need our forwards to put away some chances. I can’t fix that instantly, but I promise you, I give everything every single day. I feel the trust from the people around me, and there’s only one thing to do: just keep going.”

Frank left Brentford for Spurs in the summer, taking over from Ange Postecoglou. Seven months in, things haven’t gone to plan. Tottenham have managed just seven wins in 22 Premier League games under him. Cup runs didn’t last long either—Newcastle dumped them out of the League Cup, and Aston Villa did the same in the FA Cup.

So, who takes over if Frank gets the boot? The club’s looking at a few names: Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, and Xabi Alonso are in the mix. But there’s some hesitation about going back to Pochettino. On talkSPORT’s Inside Spurs YouTube show, Sonny Snelling warned, “Never go back to an ex. I feel like that ship’s sailed, which is a shame. He had some good spells at PSG and Chelsea, but things have moved on. Honestly, I’m not even sure who’s next. I’d go for a young coach, someone open to fresh ideas and ready to build something new. For me, Sebastian Hoeneß at Stuttgart stands out. He’s won their first trophy in ages, improved players, and they’ve got Angelo Stiller—he’s caught Real Madrid’s eye and looks like a real talent.”

Tottenham host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night in the Champions League, then heads to Burnley for a tough weekend fixture.

Jamie Redknapp and Ashley Young just couldn’t make sense of Unai Emery’s painfully awkward post-match interview after Aston Villa’s 1-0 loss to Everton.

Villa had a real shot at climbing to second in the Premier League with a win at Villa Park, especially since Arsenal and Manchester City had both dropped points earlier that weekend. But instead, they put in one of their flattest performances of the season. Thierno Barry’s clever finish ended up being the only thing between the two teams.

Evann Guessand hit the woodwork, but honestly, Villa barely offered anything in response. And things nearly got worse—Jake O’Brien actually scored early on, only for the goal to be chalked off for offside.

So, Arsenal wrapped up the weekend with a comfortable seven-point lead at the top, with City sitting above third-placed Villa on goal difference after 22 games. For Villa, that’s three games out of their last four where they’ve dropped points. They’ll try to turn things around next weekend at St James’ Park against Newcastle.

After the final whistle, Emery looked like he weighed the world on his shoulders. He told Sky Sports that his team simply weren’t “top-five contenders” with the way they’ve been playing. “We are not contenders to be in the top five. We are still not being contenders,” he said. “There are other teams with more potential than us.”

When a reporter pressed him on what it would take for Villa to actually be contenders, Emery just repeated himself—“Because there are other teams with more potential than us.” He wouldn’t elaborate, just stared down at the ground, then glared at the reporter before walking off. It was tense, and honestly, a little uncomfortable.

Back in the Sky Sports studio, Mark Chapman said Emery looked like he was “seething about something”, but nobody could quite figure out what had set him off. Redknapp and Young looked just as confused by Emery’s “weird” and “odd” behaviour.

“He looked really angry,” Young said. He guessed maybe it was all the injuries—another one for John McGinn, plus they’re still missing Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana. “Is it the loss of Donyell Malen? Is he trying to send a message to the owners, saying he needs more players?”

Young thought Emery would have more to say about the game itself and the missed chance to close the gap on Arsenal. “To say there are five teams with more potential, it was weird.”

Redknapp called it “one of the oddest interviews I have ever seen,” especially the part at the end when Emery just went silent. “I don’t know what he’s trying to allude to. I guess he’s just genuinely devastated by that performance and result. They do need players.”

He pointed out how thin Villa’s bench looked. “They haven’t got the options. Harvey Elliott hasn’t worked out and wasn’t on the bench; Jadon Sancho was ill. Boubacar Kamara looks like he’ll be out for a long time; John McGinn’s got a knee problem. They need to strengthen that midfield.”

Redknapp said Arsenal got away with one since Villa “blew an incredible opportunity” to put some real pressure at the top. “They couldn’t have started any worse. Everton hit the post in the first few minutes, and you thought that would wake Villa up, but it never happened. Then they lost John McGinn, and, really, they just wasted the chance to go after Arsenal.”

“They didn’t have it in any area today. The players who can bail them out just didn’t turn up. It was a really tough afternoon for Villa—they never got going. Maybe it’s the pressure, maybe it’s the missing players. Either way, they just weren’t at it.”