Spurs players unfazed by Eze disappointment, says Frank
MANCHESTER, England :Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank said his players needed no extra motivation for their dominant 2-0 Premier League victory over Manchester City on Saturday following the fallout from their failed bid to sign Ebereche Eze.
The Crystal Palace forward had looked poised to join Spurs last week before their arch-rivals Arsenal, his boyhood club, moved in to scupper the deal.
"Never, ever use one word about any player who is not in our club (for motivation)," Frank said.
The snub clearly stung Spurs fans, however, as an Eze painting on a wall near Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was defaced by vandals throwing white paint over it.
Spurs, though, continued their impressive recent league record at Etihad with their third win in five visits to continue their good start to the campaign.
"We had a lot of questions about transfers in the (pre-game) press conference yesterday but we did sign two very good players, two top players in (Mohammed) Kudus and Palhinha," Frank said.
"Today Palhinha, wow, sometimes you just need to get your confidence and I still don't think he's fully fit yet."
Spurs appointed Frank in June less than two weeks after Ange Postecoglou was sacked after their 17th-place finish last season.
"Very delighted," Frank said. "Extremely proud of the players' performance."
They have not conceded a goal this season after their opening 3-0 win over Burnley.
"I must say that the clean sheet makes me very happy," Frank said. "It's a big thing we've been working on, the defensive side of the game, high pressure, middle block, low block, blocking shots, everything, because if you get clean sheets you're closer to winning a game."
