'Burning, annoying' - Frank calls for time after 'very bad' Spurs loss

"It's pretty evident if no-one gets the time, no-one can turn it around. This is not a quick fix."

Thomas Frank was clear with what is needed after watching Tottenham's weak defeat at Nottingham Forest.

He is confident he will get time to finally tap into Tottenham's potential. But that was not on display at the City Ground.

Mistakes allowed Callum Hudson-Odoi to score twice, and the game was over before Ibrahim Sangare's stunning third.

Spurs won just six of their final 19 games of last season and even lifting the Europa League after beating Manchester United was not enough to save Ange Postecoglou.

Frank replaced him but after winning six of his opening 11 games, he has won just four of his next 14.

Tottenham, 11th in the Premier League and six points adrift of the top five, have changed the manager but their problems remain.

"I think Frank is a really good manager and we have to remember that all managers need time," said ex-England winger and BBC Match of the Day pundit Theo Walcott. "Spurs are not in a terrible position either.

"I think the disappointing thing from their fans' point of view is that this is an opportunity to do even better because of how close the middle of the table is - and how no-one is really standing out massively in that middle pack."

Spurs arrived looking for a third straight win in all competitions for the first time in more than a year - but instead Frank was picking through the wreckage of another damaging defeat.

The 2-0 win at Manchester City in August has long been forgotten and has been replaced by the memories of a 4-1 derby humbling at Arsenal, a 1-0 loss to Chelsea and further home defeats to Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Fulham.

Half of rock bottom Wolves' points total this season has come at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Spurs rescued a 1-1 draw in stoppage time.

Their home win over Brentford last week was the first Premier League victory at home since their opening game in north London against Burnley in August.

There have been Champions League wins over Villarreal, Copenhagen and Slavia Prague but the inconsistencies which have dogged Tottenham for years remain.

Frank only joined in the summer from Brentford, replacing Postecoglou, but it has still left him looking vulnerable with supporters, even if he has clarity of thought.

"I do everything to control my emotions, which is a hurricane inside me, because, of course, it's deeply frustrating that we are not doing better after three good performances," said Frank, who described the display at Forest as "burning, annoying".

"It is extremely important to be calm and measured and of course, have very, very direct and clear messages at the right time so they're not in doubt of what I think, because I'm very honest about where we are as well.

"I was also very honest, today was a very bad performance. No two ways about that, but also know that to change this, this will take some time.

"No one will want to hear about that. It's just reality. I think the ones who have followed the club and the team, I think it's fair to say there's been a few not too consistent performances, and that's the thing. We are working very hard."

Frank made a triple substitution on 59 minutes, bringing on Ben Davies, Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall for Djed Spence, Archie Gray and Rodrigo Bentancur - with Spence clearly unhappy with the decision.

Former Arsenal forward Walcott felt the changes would only add to fans' frustrations.

"I was thinking 'you are losing the game, why bring on defensive players?' That is the worry," he said. "The attacking side of Tottenham's play, and that is why the fans are frustrated too. Seeing that happen today is not going to help."

Frank, though, was supported by Sean Dyche after Forest recorded a third straight win over Spurs.

"You bring new players in, you don't just click your fingers with a group of players," he said. "They signed players you've got to re-educate in your way.

"But there is no time now. You're a hero to zero every week now, and that's just the nature of the world, not just football.

"He knows what he's doing without a doubt."

Guglielmo Vicario's errors - leading to the first two goals - cannot be ignored. At the end he trudged back towards the Tottenham fans and held up his hands in apology.

He was far from the only culprit for a wretched defeat but the spotlight will shine further on the 29-year-old after previous errors.

Frank had to defend him following his mistake against Fulham, which gave Harry Wilson a crucial goal, and said Spurs fans who abused him can't be true supporters.

There were few left in the away end at the final whistle so Vicario will have been spared the vitriol at the City Ground but there are few places to hide.

Frank refused to blame the Italy international for the first goal, where his pass put Gray in trouble and allowed Sangare to pinch the ball to set up Hudson-Odoi,

"No, I think you see that every week in the Premier League, and from every team all over the world. So, there's no problem with that," he said.

"After the first goal we lost structure and we were more disjointed and then 2-0 kills the game off. It doesn't help we made two mistakes with the first two goals but that can happen in football. We just need to keep doing the right things, so everything looks the right way."

Former England goalkeeper and Match of the Day pundit Joe Hart also absolved Vicario of blame for the first goal.

"He's passed it with the intention of Archie Gray bouncing it first time out to Cristian Romero. The press from Forest is very good and as soon as Gray takes more than one touch it looks like a bad pass from the goalkeeper," said Hart.

"That is something they will do every day in training without any problem.

"If you're being overly critical, Vicario might have been better off giving it to Gray on his stronger right foot, which would make the pass to Romero easier. But you can see from Gray's own reaction he should have dealt with it better."