Premier League sack race: New manager favourite named amid FA Cup chaos
The Premier League sack race is continuing to heat up after another brutal week for the key figures involved.
Football Insider revealed on Saturday that Thomas Frank is on the verge of the sack at Tottenham, after yet another pair of defeats.
The Dane was seen drinking from an Arsenal cup before his side were beaten by Bournemouth on Wednesday, and they were seen off by Aston Villa on Saturday in the FA Cup.
Nuno Espirito Santo is also under considerable pressure, after his side were beaten by Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
West Ham are paying serious attention to the prospect of sacking Nuno, with his side now seven points away from safety.
Thomas Frank leads Premier League sack race amid FA Cup chaos
It has been an incredibly negative few months for Frank‘s Tottenham, with the situation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium getting uglier by the game.
The Lilywhites have won just one of their last seven games across all competitions, and just five of their last 20.
After Wednesday’s late defeat at the hands of Antoine Semenyo, the likes of Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro were captured in arguments with the away end, as security attempted to separate the players from their own fans.
And when Frank attempted to clap them for their efforts, he was met by a chorus of boos.
The scenes immediately following Saturday’s defeat to Villa were just as chaotic, but in a slightly different way.
Ollie Watkins raised his hands following the referee’s final whistle and appeared to provoke Joao Palhinha by bumping into him. The midfielder duly obliged, and so ensued a mass shoving contest between players and coaching staff.
While not a situation of Frank’s making, the moment has only worked to further destabilise his image of control at Tottenham.
One major bookmaker has named him the new leader of the sack race at 8/15 odds, leading Nuno at 7/5 and Scott Parker at 2/1.
What Frank said about post-match antics
There is a sense that Watkins knew exactly what he was doing when he celebrated in the face of Palhinha after the final whistle.
Frank said as much and was not afraid to accuse the England international of provoking his players by not just walking around.
“You need to play with passion, sometimes you play to the line and sometimes borderline,” said the Dane after the game.
“I see players with big passion and that is important, but we also need cool heads.”
Up next is the visit of West Ham on Saturday, in a clash that may well be dubbed el sackico.