Vinai Venkatesham interview: Tottenham need ‘complete reset’, says chief executive

It means nothing now, but Frank’s ill-fated reign started quite well following his appointment last June. Tottenham lost just one of their opening 10 matches of the season in all competitions.

But when Tottenham finally sacked Frank in February, the only surprise was that it didn’t happen sooner.

Indeed, Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange faced heavy criticism from fans for prolonging Frank’s tenure for as long as they did.

“There’s been plenty of coverage that the club was passive during this period. And that’s absolutely not true,” insisted Venkatesham.

In weighing up Frank’s future, Venkatesham says the club considered results, the probability of the Dane turning their failing season around, concerns changing managers may create in the January transfer window, the fixture calendar and concerns over entering the interim head coach market.

Venkatesham confirmed to BBC Sport that Tottenham tried to entice De Zerbi, who was leaving Marseille, to become the club’s full-time head coach after Frank was dismissed.

The Italian, however, was originally unwilling to take the job mid-season, which led Spurs towards making the left-field appointment of Tudor – who left Spurs by mutual consent after just seven games.

“Obviously, we were very disappointed when it became clear that we wouldn’t be appointing Roberto on a permanent basis [in February],” said Venkatesham.

“We were then, in the interim market, which is generally not the not the broadest. There was a number of reasons why Igor was selected: he had managed in very high-profile and high-pressure environments – we didn’t want somebody that was going to wilt under that pressure.

“He has a history of making an immediate impact. He has managed in big clubs. He has quite a different personality to Thomas and we felt like something different was needed.

“But of course we were really aware he had no Premier League experience. Was it a risk in appointing him? Absolutely.”

Asked if he would accept the Tudor appointment was a mistake, Venkatesham responded: “It didn’t work out. I think it’s very clear it didn’t work out. And I don’t think that is in question. I don't think anybody would argue anything else.”