Frank to seal Tottenham appointment today as assistant coaching staff takes shape

A couple of days ago we reported on news regarding Thomas Frank’s forthcoming appointment as head coach at Tottenham Hotspur, and who he wanted to bring from his current club, Brentford to serve as his assistants. Turns out, none of the names on that original list are coming. But according to the Athletic (£), Frank will bring three people from his current job with him, including a highly regarded assistant whom Brentford wanted to take over for Frank when he left.

Jay Wright writes (Jay Writes?) that Frank will be joined by coach Justin Cochrane, analyist Joe Newton, and trainer Chris Haslam. Cochrane is considered a highly regarded young coach, and Brentford were considering tapping him to stay at the club and take over for Frank. Cochrane apparently turned down the opportunity to become a Premier League manager for the first time to stay with Frank as his top assistant.

Is that weird? It feels a little weird, but there are probably reasons why Cochrane would want to do that. Maybe the timing didn’t feel right. Maybe Cochrane decided he didn’t want to be a manager at the highest level of English football and preferred the (relatively) less stressful life as an assistant. Who can say? It sounds like Brentford’s loss is Tottenham’s gain.

The Athletic also writes that Cochrane’s status is what took the club so long to announce Frank’s appointment, as they were trying to work out where he would go and what he wanted. Cochrane is also part of the England coaching setup under Thomas Tuchel and will apparently stay on there as well.

I do wonder what this means for Matt Wells and Rob Burch, the two assistant coaches under Ange Postecoglou who weren’t let go when Ange left the club. We’ll probably find out whether they’ll find roles under Frank or if they will find other positions within Spurs’ organization or at other clubs.

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