Thomas Frank began life as Tottenham manager in an impressive fashion as Spurs beat Reading FC 2-0 in their opening Pre-season match, Softfootball reports.
The former Brentford manager had before the game told the players that all he demands from them is bravery. But the first half of the encounter didn’t come close as it ended in a dull goalless.
Frank made a couple of changes in the second half and brought on new £55m signing, Mohammed Kudus from West Ham and the Ghana international made instant impact.
The game which was played inside the Select Car Leasing Stadium sparked into life with Will Lankshear and another summer signing Luka Vuskovic scoring the goals against the Sky Bet League One side.
Goal – VUSKOVIC
Assist – KUDUS— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 19, 2025
Kudus beat Reading’s offside trap and rolled back a pass for Vuskovic to drive home with his left foot from 14 yards, it was a clinical strike. The former Hammers star received a mention from an excited Vuskovic during the post match interview.
He explained:
“I’m very happy for those stats and I’m happy that we won the game with a clean sheet. We just need to continue to build.
“It was a good game; a lot of duels, transitions and I think we managed it well.
“Kudus gave me a top assist and I just put it in the net!
“To have Vicario behind me, Van de Ven beside me was a really amazing experience.
“Now everything is perfect. The club is behind me, the players, the staff, the coach. Everyone is helping me a lot and I’m really happy.”
Luka on his first appearance in a Spurs shirt 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/LNHXpksipJ
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 19, 2025
Tottenham dominated the second half with some eye-catching displays and a 65 per cent possession overall was impressive. It was better than the 54.8 per cent they averaged in the Premier League under former manager Ange Postecoglou last season.
The match also showed that Spurs have improved on their set-pieces. An act Thomas Frank used very very at Brentford. Infact, they were one of the first teams to employ a set-piece coach.
Frank was satisfied after the encounter which was his first for the club. Speaking to Tottenham Hotspur official website.
He said:
“Lots of boxes ticked, and if we look in a bigger perspective, it’s been a good week, very tough and intense for the lads.
“So, a couple of good things, we’ve got through the week, touch wood, no injuries, everyone in a better, physical place, all the players got a good 45 minutes here, plus a good run after – the fitness box ticked.
“It’s always important to keep a clean sheet, that’s very important if you want to win football matches, so good aspects in that. I think it’s good we scored two goals from set pieces, something we’ve been working hard on.
“There were elements in the game I’m happy with, elements of the high pressure, elements of the counter-press, so when we’ve lost it, we can bank teams in, elements of having enough players in the box… there are also bits we’d like to do better, but that’s normal.”
Thomas’ thoughts on this afternoon’s win at Reading 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/g5ueKVDBBL
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 19, 2025
Softfootball can report clear progress about the Tottenham team less than two weeks under Thomas Frank’s tutelage and they will certainly continue to improve.
Tottenham will begin the new Premier League season at home against newly promoted Burnley at the London stadium on August 16.
