| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Frank[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-10-09)9 October 1973 (age 52) | ||
| Place of birth | Frederiksværk, Denmark[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tottenham Hotspur (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2004 | Frederiksværk | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2008–2011 | Denmark U16 | ||
| 2008–2012 | Denmark U17 | ||
| 2012–2013 | Denmark U19 | ||
| 2013–2016 | Brøndby | ||
| 2018–2025 | Brentford | ||
| 2025– | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Frank (Danish pronunciation:[ˈtsʰʌmæsˈfʁɑŋk]; born 9 October 1973) is a Danish professionalfootballmanager who is the head coach ofPremier League clubTottenham Hotspur.
After 18 years in youth coaching, which included spells as manager of multipleDanish national youth teams, Frank became a senior manager withBrøndby in 2013. After his departure in 2016, he moved to English clubBrentford as assistant head coach, and was promoted into the role of head coach in October 2018. At the end of the2020–21 season, Frank became only the second Brentford head coach or manager to achieve promotion to the top-flight of English football.
Over the following four seasons, Frank guided Brentford into becoming a mainstay in the Premier League, on a limited budget. In June 2025, Frank departed from Brentford after seven years at the club to join Tottenham Hotspur.
After a short playing career in amateur football as amidfielder,[3] Frank began his coaching career with the U8 team at hometown club Frederiksværk in 1995.[4][5] He moved to the U12 team two years later and then on toHvidovre in 1998,[6]B93 in 2004 andLyngby in 2006.[4][6] In July 2008, Frank was appointed manager of the Denmark national U16 andU17 teams.[4][7] In 2011, he led the U17 team to theEuropean U17 Championship finals for the first time in eight years (advancing to thesemi-finals before losing 2–0 toGermany) and to its firstU17 World Cup,[8][9][10] in which the team was eliminated in thegroup stage.[11] Frank was promoted to theDenmark U19 manager's job in July 2012,[12] but he failed to qualify for the2013 European U19 Championship.[13] During his time working for theDBU, Frank also acted as manager during an unofficial U18 match in 2010 and presided over one U20 match in 2012, covering forMorten Wieghorst.[14] He also served as assistant for the U18, U17, U16 andwomen's U17 teams on an ad-hoc basis.[14]
Frank was named as manager ofDanish Superliga clubBrøndby on 10 June 2013, his first position in senior football.[15] He replacedAuri Skarbalius, who had been dismissed the season before.[16] While Brøndby has historically been one of the most successful teams in Denmark, they had recently struggled, finishing just 5 points above relegatedAC Horsens the season prior.[16] Frank achieved fourth and third-place finishes respectively in the2013–14 and2014–15 seasons, high enough to qualify for theEuropa League qualification stages,[17] but was unable to lead the club into the group stage in either season.[18][19] Frank resigned on 9 March 2016 after receiving criticism from chairman Jan Bech Andersen, under apseudonym, on anonline supporters' forum.[20][21][22] He was replaced byAuri Skarbalius who took over as the interim coach.[23]
On 9 December 2016, Frank moved toEngland to joinChampionship clubBrentford as assistant head coach alongsideRichard O'Kelly.[24] He signed a two-and-a-half year contract.[25] When he signed for Brentford, he also had an offer to become the head coach from an unnamed Danish club.[16] In addition to being a "bridge between the players and the coaching staff",[26] co-director of footballRasmus Ankersen revealed that Frank would also "look after the players between theB team and the first team and make sure there is a pathway for them and take care of their development".[27] In February 2018, he signed a new contract, which would run until the end of the2019–20 season.[28]
On 16 October 2018, after the departure of head coachDean Smith, it was announced that Frank had been promoted into the role.[29] He took over a club rocked by the recent death of technical director Robert Rowan and endured a tough start to his tenure, winning just one of his first 10 games,[30] before stabilising the team's form after a change to a3–4–3 formation.[26] Seven points from a possible nine in January 2019 saw him nominated for theChampionship Manager of the Month award.[31] He guided Brentford to the fifth round of theFA Cup and an eleventh-place finish in the Championship at the end of the2018–19 season.[30]
After an uneven start to the 2019–20 season and switching back to a4–3–3 formation,[32][33] 10 points from five matches in October 2019 saw Frank nominated for the Championship Manager of the Month award.[34] With Brentford in the play-off places,[35] Frank and his assistantBrian Riemer signed new three-and-a-half year contracts in January 2020.[30][36] After theseason restart,[37] an unbeaten June won Frank the Championship Manager of the Month award and he oversaw Brentford's run to the2020 Championship play-off final,[38] which Brentford lost 2–1 toWest London rivalsFulham.[39]
Frank reached 100 matches as Brentford manager in late October 2020; at the time he had the highestwinning percentage of any Brentford manager with a tenure of 100 matches or more.[40] In the midst of a 21-match unbeaten run in league matches,[41] five wins in December 2020 won Frank the Championship Manager of the Month award.[42] Following a run to the club's first ever appearance in the semi-finals of theEFL Cup, Frank managed Brentford to a second-successive third-place Championship finish during the2020–21 regular season.[43] The team went one better than the previous season during theplay-offs, winning promotion to thePremier League after a 2–0 victory overSwansea City in the2021 Championship play-off final.[43] The promotion made him the second Brentford head coach to win promotion to the top-tier,[44] afterHarry Curtis won theSecond Division championship in1934–35.[45] During the 2020–21 season, Frank was named the 2020 DBU Coach of the Year and was nominated for the 2021 London Football Awards Manager of the Year award.[46][47]
Halfway through the2021–22 season – with Brentford placed 14th in the Premier League table, nine points clear of the relegation zone – Frank and his assistant Brian Riemer signed three-and-a-half year contract extensions on 21 January 2022.[48][49] In March 2022, Frank was nominated for a second successive DBU Coach of the Year award.[50] An unbeaten April 2022 saw Frank nominated for thePremier League Manager of the Month award and the following month,[51] he was nominated for thePremier League Manager of the Season award.[52] He oversaw a final Premier League placing of 13th.[53] With 10% less possession per match compared to the previous season in the Championship, Frank and the coaching staff adjusted the team's style of play, emphasising scoring fromdead-ball situations andcounter attacks.[54]F.C. Copenhagen's recent "stats against the top teams inEurope" was an inspirationdefensively.[54]
In October 2022, Frank achieved the feat of having won more of his first 200 matches than any Brentford head coach or manager to also reach 200.[53] Frank's assistant Brian Riemer left his role on 2 December 2022 and was replaced three days later byClaus Nørgaard,[55] who had previously worked as Frank's assistant at the DBU and Brøndby IF.[56] OnChristmas Eve 2022, Frank signed a new four-and-a-half year contract.[53] Unbeaten form around the turn of the year saw Frank nominated for the November 2022, December 2022 and January 2023 Premier League Manager of the Month awards.[57][58] In March 2023, Frank won the 2022 DBU Coach of the Year award.[46] Brentford went into the final day of the season in contention to finish in the final European place, but despite a 1–0 victory overManchester City (completing a season double over the Premier League champions), results elsewhere saw the club finish ninth.[59]
Frank guided an injury-ravaged squad to a 16th place finish in the2023–24 season.[60] Brentford's Premier League status was assured with four matches to play, but despite the low placing,[61] the club ended the season 13 points above the relegation zone.[60] The squad suffered 21 injuries, underwent 11 surgeries and due to anFA-imposed suspension, was withoutIvan Toney (the club's leading goalscorer in the past three seasons) until the final four months of the season.[61] With two league matches to play in the2024–25 season, Brentford remained in contention for a European place and Frank was nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season award.[62] The club ended the season with a 10th place finish.[63]
On 12 June 2025, Frank replacedAnge Postecoglou as the head coach ofTottenham Hotspur, signing a contract until 2028.[64] Brentford received £10 million in compensation.[65]
On 13 August 2025, Frank managed his first official game for Tottenham in the2025 UEFA Super Cup, losing toParis Saint-Germain 4–3 on penalties following a 2–2 draw in normal time.[66] He won his first league game in charge, defeatingBurnley 3–0 in Tottenham's season opener.[67]
Frank is married and has three children.[4][68] He was awarded aBA inPhysical Education by theCopenhagen Institute of Sports Medicine in 1999 and studiedsport psychology and coaching-based leadership at the same institution between 2002 and 2005.[4] He also worked at akindergarten and later taught atIshøj Business College in 2004.[4][68] Prior to moving toLondon in December 2016, Frank and his family lived inHvidovre.[25] Frank was a member of theBBC Sport commentary team atEuro 2024.[69]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Denmark U16 | 1 July 2008 | 2011 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 040.00 |
| Denmark U17 | 1 July 2008 | July 2012 | 66 | 38 | 14 | 14 | 057.58 |
| Denmark U19 | July 2012 | June 2013 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 066.67 |
| Brøndby | 10 June 2013 | 9 March 2016 | 103 | 46 | 29 | 28 | 044.66 |
| Brentford | 16 October 2018 | 12 June 2025 | 317 | 132 | 77 | 108 | 041.64 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 12 June 2025 | Present | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 042.11 |
| Total | 545 | 244 | 130 | 171 | 044.77 | ||
Denmark U17
Brentford
Individual
