‘Get him out’ – Thomas Frank lands himself in PR disaster moments before Tottenham Hotspur defeat

Thomas Frank has furiously denied knowingly drinking from an Arsenal-branded cup before Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at Bournemouth.

The Dane was pictured drinking from an Arsenal-branded cup, before his reputation was then further dented by a crushing late defeat.

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Spurs had taken an early lead through Mathys Tel, with the Frenchman scoring after just five minutes.

However, the visitors were behind before half time after goals from Evanilson and Eli Junior Kroupi.

The visitors appeared to have rescued a point, though, thanks to Joao Palhinha’s second half equaliser.

Those hopes were dashed right at the end by Antoine Semenyo as he grabbed winner in the fifth minute of stoppage-time on his final Bournemouth appearance.

It was a goal which ends a run of 11 matches without a win for Andoini Iraola’s side.

The late defeat prompted an angry reaction from the travelling supporters.

Defender Micky van de Ven was even seen rowing with fans following the final whistle.

Meanwhile, the damage to Frank’s debut season at Spurs followed a PR disaster ahead of kick-off.

The Dane was astonishingly pictured holding a cup with the badge of Tottenham’s biggest rivals at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.

Frank could be seen smiling as he walked out onto the pitch holding a drink prior to the match.

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However, the cup he was holding displayed the badge of the Gunners.

The two sides met most recently in November, with Arsenal running out 4-1 winners at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal were the latest visitors to Bournemouth prior to their clash with Spurs, though.

The Cherries suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to the league leaders last Saturday.

Frank’s furious response

The Spurs boss was asked about the incident after the match, as he insisted he wasn’t aware the Arsenal logo was not on the cup.

He told reporters: “I definitely did not notice it. It would be completely stupid of me to take it if I knew.

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“It’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked about it. I would never do something that stupid.

“I think we’re definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club.

“Of course, I would never do that. That’s extremely stupid.”

Fans not convinced

Frank’s denial are unlikely to placate Spurs fans though, with talkSPORT’s Abbi Summer left enraged by Frank’s antics.

Reacting on talkSPORT Goals, she fumed: “My head is absolutely spun about him drinking out of an Arsenal cup.”

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Summers continued: “My head is spinning. Why are you drinking out of an Arsenal cup? Why?

“I need to understand the logic, give me the logic and the understanding why you would be drinking out of an Arsenal cup.

“That can’t happen. You’re the manager of Tottenham Hotspur and you’re drinking out of an Arsenal cup before kick-off. Are you joking?

“What do you mean he wouldn’t see it? You’d notice it if it had an Everton emblem or a United emblem, you’d notice it if it had a Tottenham one.

“If you brought me that and it had an Arsenal one, I’d say ‘take it back, I’m not drinking it’.

“The manager of my football club is walking around pre-kick-off drinking out of an Arsenal cup. We’re not at the Emirates, we’re at Bournemouth.

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“It can’t be a legitimate picture, it can’t be, I need someone to AI, Grok it, double check it, do whatever, ChatGPT it. That can’t be a real image.”

Upon discovering the image was real, she added: “Get this man out of my football club. Get him out of my football club, get him out. I need to understand the logic.”

Away from his cup mishap, Frank has now seen his side win just one of their last six Premier League matches.

Spurs find themselves 14th in the table following their latest setback and are now seven points adrift of the top four.

Their poor form and league position could increase calls from fans for a change in the dugout.

However, he club had previously planned to give the former Brentford boss time to put his own stamp on the side.

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talkSPORT revealed last month that Frank’s job was not under threat.

The 52-year-old replaced Ange Postecoglou on a three-year deal through to 2028 during the summer.

Spurs are next in action at home to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, they host West Ham in the Premier League a week later.