'I accept my responsibility' - Johan Lange addresses Tottenham mistakes
Johan Lange has reflected on Tottenham’s decision to sack Thomas Frank, as well as his own role in the wrong calls that have been made at Spurs.
Barring the first few games of the season, it never looked like a happy marriage between Frank and Tottenham.
The club eventually decided to put the Dane out of his misery last week, with the 52-year-old leaving Spurs just five points off the relegation zone.
Many Tottenham fans felt that the club should have sacked Frank a lot sooner, and they persisted with him too long amidst abject performances.
Johan Lange says Tottenham wanted to give Thomas Frank every chance to succeed
The Tottenham sporting director reveals that the decision to ultimately call time on the Frank experiment was made at the boardroom level.
He also stood behind the decision to appoint Frank in the first place, insisting that due diligence was done and that the club wanted to give the former Brentford boss an opportunity to get things right.
When asked about the decision to sack Frank, Johan Lange said (via Football.London): “We as the leaders constantly evaluate performances, evaluate results and after the Newcastle game, we made the decision. Ultimately, it was a board decision but we made the decision and that was why we decided it was the right time to change.”
When asked if the way things unfolded has shaken the foundations of how the managerial hiring decision was made, he responded: “No, I think when you make a decision, you’re always making the decision that you’re confident is the right one at the time. We evaluated, and we wanted to give Thomas every opportunity to succeed. But ultimately, it’s also our responsibility to make the decisions, and we came to that point where we saw the performances, the results, and then you come to that decision.”
Lange accepts his own responsibility for his role in Spurs’ mistakes
The club’s decision to hire Frank, persist with him for so long, and some of their transfer failings, have led to some supporters losing faith in those calling the shots at the top.
Lange insisted that the pressure and expectations from the supporters are part of working at a club like Tottenham and accepted blame for some of his mistakes.
When asked about the missteps the club have taken, he responded: “I, of course, accept my responsibility at all times, but every decision that I make and we have made has been in the best interests of the club.
“I think when you work for a big club like Tottenham, then pressure, or whatever you want to call it, is part of it. I’m sitting here today because I want to take responsibility for the club, everything that comes into football. Part of being here is expectations. That is part of why it’s fantastic to be here because if you are working for a big club there are big expectations, but also big opportunities and big possibilities.
“If you work for a very small club, if you work for a club with less fans, then maybe there’s less pressure or expectation. I think we are a big club and we work with high expectations and that is why I personally, really, really love working here because of the expectations.”
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