Despite the South Stand’s recommendation for an immediate dismissal and subsequent speculation, Thomas Frank remained at the helm of Tottenham’s squad as he emerged from the training facility with a determined smile.

“I’m doing quite well, actually,” he cheerfully replied when asked about his state of mind. “The sun is out, and we’re playing football.”

In reality, the sunshine was a rare guest, and football excitement had been in short supply recently. However, the morning drizzle had finally cleared, and Frank, amidst the swirling rumors following the recent defeat, held on to his position.

“At some point, the club must commit to a direction,” Ange Postecoglou had remarked last year as he fought unsuccessfully to retain the role Frank now battles to secure.

Yet, Spurs fans created a tense atmosphere inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following West Ham’s last-minute victory on Saturday. The club’s new leadership spent the weekend in deliberation, weighing their choices before meeting with the head coach for a lunch discussion yesterday.

Thomas Frank takes Tottenham training – the Dane has vowed to fight on despite the mounting pressure on him

Frank oversees Tottenham’s Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund desperately needing a win to quieten the noise around his future

There were no assurances on offer about Frank’s long-term job security from chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange or Nick Beucher, influential son-in-law of the club’s co-owner Vivienne Lewis. And he was not expecting any. But he lives to fight another day.

‘I haven’t heard any situation like that in football where they say, “Hey, mate, if you win tomorrow, no problem, and if you lose tomorrow, no problem”,’ said Frank. ‘We had a good conversation about life and football, the future of the club, everything normal, like you do.

‘Of course, there’s a little bit of stormy weather out there. I just think it’s an extremely good sign, because normally people are running away if there’s bad news or bad weather coming, they’re normally not coming in and being friendly for lunch.’

Whether this turns out to be the ultimate show of faith from a board under fire or a club simply paralysed by fear remains to be seen.

There is a certainly a school of thought within Spurs that to sack Frank and his coaching staff would further destabilise a wildly unstable environment, making matters worse and potentially tipping them into a full-scale relegation crisis.

The chairman, the head coach and his coaching team, the captain, one of the two sporting directors, the head of football operations and more executive figures have all been changed in the last 12 months.

After years of poor recruitment, there is major surgery required on the squad and Frank claims small signs of progress he detected in recent weeks have been nullified by twists of ill fortune.

Ben Davies is the latest ruled out by serious injury. Davies has had surgery after breaking his left ankle against West Ham on Saturday. Others absent through injury against Borussia Dortmund are Joao Palhinha, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.

Defeat by West Ham at the weekend was a hammer blow for Spurs as they slip further down the table 

Frank was unhappy with a tackle by Jarrod Bowen on Xavi Simons (pictured) on Saturday 

Pape Matar Sarr is on his way back from international duty and Micky van de Ven is suspended from a yellow card in the previous Champions League outing against Slavia Prague.

Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma and Mathys Tel are omitted from the UEFA squad and new signing Conor Gallagher cannot be registered until the end of the league phase.

Archie Gray and Xavi Simons, who took knocks against West Ham, are among the 11 outfield players declared fit and playing despite pain. Dominic Solanke, who has not started a game since May, is another.

Frank hit out at the tackle by Jarrod Bowen on Simons which, he said, was far worse than the one by Simons on Virgil van Dijk, which earned him a red card and a three-match ban.

‘That was a bad tackle from Bowen,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘Not that Bowen is a bad guy and would do anything intentional, but a bad tackle from behind that injured his ankle.

‘He has a swollen ankle, but he is strong mentally and will play through pain so big credit to Xavi. I can’t understand why that isn’t a red card when a red card is given when he accidentally put his foot on Van Dijk.’

It all feeds into the notion that fate is conspiring against Frank, and he urged Spurs fans to get behind his team against Borussia Dortmund, currently second in the Bundesliga.

‘We have 11 outfield players available and maybe three who need a massive push to get through 90 minutes,’ he said. ‘We need everyone to support us. We want them to support us from minute one. All of us. Especially the team. Especially the players. Especially if it’s not going too well.

West Ham’s Callum Wilson celebrates scoring the goal that condemned Spurs to their latest defeat

Frank had lunch with Spurs chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and Nick Beucher, influential son-in-law of the club’s co-owner Vivienne Lewis, before taking training on Monday

‘We need them to support us. Because if we do get that support everything can happen. Magic can happen.’

With 11 points from their six Champions League fixtures, Spurs are well set for the knock-out rounds. They could feasibly qualify without a point tonight or next week at Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the Premier League though, there is an awkward trip to Burnley looming on Saturday before a daunting quartet of games against Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal.

This is where Frank needs some magic because if his team cannot start winning the crescendo of dissent will reach the point where it is too loud to ignore.