<\/p>\n
Thomas Frank will give his Tottenham squad Christmas Day off, but only because it fits in with their schedule ahead of Monday\u2019s (AEDT) match away to London rivals Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n
Frank\u2019s warning to his players to be \u201cgrown-ups\u201d comes as England\u2019s Test cricket team is being investigated over concerns about excessive drinking<\/a> during the Ashes series against Australia. <\/p>\n Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Spurs have struggled since Frank replaced the sacked Ange Postecoglou and are 14th in the Premier League table following a run of five defeats in eight matches in all competitions.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s form has led to a rising tide of anger among Tottenham fans, many of whom are already losing faith in Frank, and the 52-year-old\u2019s decision to give his side Christmas Day off may not go down well with supporters.<\/p>\n But Frank, explaining the reason behind his decision, said: \u201cThis week we actually handle in the same way I would have done with any other week. If it was not Christmas, it was still done the same.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we have two days leading to the game, day off, two days. So Tuesday and Wednesday, then off on 25th and then two days. Then it\u2019s perfectly fit the Christmas family schedule, which is very good.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big believer of being a top professional and that\u2019s something I believe the players are and should be. Some need to be guided more than others, but also they are grown-up individuals.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I need to hold their hand the whole time, we have a bigger problem in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank\u2019s comments come as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is \u201cestablishing the facts\u201d after a video appearing to show Ashes opening batter Ben Duckett drunk<\/a> and slurring his words in Noosa went viral. <\/p>\n The video emerged just hours after England managing director of cricket Rob Key vowed to investigate claims of excessive drinking on the four-day break in Noosa. <\/p>\n The team went there after falling to a 2-0 series deficit in Brisbane, and they afterwards lost the Ashes series by falling to 3-0 with a defeat in Adelaide. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it goes into where they\u2019re drinking lots and it\u2019s a stag do, all of that type of stuff, that\u2019s completely unacceptable. I\u2019m not a drinker; I think a drinking culture doesn\u2019t help anyone in any stretch whatsoever,\u201d Key said<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach, all of that stuff … if it goes past that, then that\u2019s an issue as far as I\u2019m concerned. That\u2019s what we\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n Fulham move clear of EPL drop zone | 00:43<\/p>\n Frank will be without captain Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons at Selhurst Park due to suspension in a fresh setback for the Danish coach.<\/p>\n But the former Brentford boss pointed to his spell at Brondby in 2013, where he recovered from a poor start to enjoy success over a three-year period, as an indication of how things could turn around at Spurs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I see a lot of similarities to my first head coach job,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, completely different scale.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is, of course, a massive club. One of the biggest clubs in the world and so much focus on it, so that makes it of course bigger and a different challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I see a lot of similarities when I had my first head coach job in Brondby and here where you try to build something over time.<\/p>\n \u201cYou inherit something that you need to try to get right with a lot of good people around me and then where this makes it extra challenging is that we play Champions League and Premier League at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we try to improve while we are driving 100 miles an hour, but that\u2019s part of it. That\u2019s a good challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n