'I was there for a Thomas Frank training session - what I saw left me with no doubt'

Former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe witnessed Thomas Frank's capabilities firsthand during a Brentford training session and has endorsed the manager to flourish in North London. Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in June, bringing former Spurs youth coach Justin Cochrane as his deputy, and made an immediate impact with victories in the opening two league fixtures before suffering a narrow loss to Bournemouth.

"[Spurs'] squad's strong. Obviously the [James] Maddison injury, the [Dejan] Kulusevski injury, it doesn't help, but with this manager he's a top top manager," Defoe told The Mirror. "I was lucky enough that I went into Brentford... two years ago, just to watch training and pick his brains. I was still on my A licence and he was really impressive.

"Not only that but away from football he's such a nice guy, approachable.

"A lot of people think about coaching, you go up and down the country you see coaches put on good sessions, everybody puts on good sessions, but I think managing people is so important and he does that well.

"I hope he does well. The players look really fit, sharp, but we'll see what happens - it's a long season."

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Assistant Cochrane, who served under Frank at Brentford, was reportedly considered for the main role at the Gtech Community Stadium before opting to move across London.

"He started at Tottenham in the academy so he's done his work, he's been on the grass for years," Defoe said of Cochrane. "Now he's at the level where he's a top coach.

"I've known Justin for years, obviously he went to Manchester United, and he had offers. He's still doing stuff with England, so he's got that experience and he knows what it's about.

"I just hope they have a good season because there's just been so much noise around Tottenham. Struggling domestically last season but winning that European trophy, obviously Daniel [Levy] leaving. It's a big year for the club."

Former England stars Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora unveil the new Sky Bet x British Heart Foundation 'Red Boot' trophy - set to be awarded to the EFL's top scorer this season, with every goal raising £50,000 to fund lifesaving CPR training and CureHeart research.