Tottenham in turmoil as Frank''s PR blunder and Romero''s social-media post invites more scrutiny

It was the last thing Thomas Frank needed.

As the under-fire Tottenham manager walked around Vitality Stadium sipping an espresso ahead of his struggling team's Premier League match at Bournemouth on Wednesday, little did he know the drink was inside a cup emblazoned with Arsenal branding.

Yes, that's Arsenal — Tottenham's fierce rival and the last team to visit Bournemouth's ground.

"I definitely didn't notice it," Frank said. "It's fair to say we're not winning every single football match so it would be absolutely, completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal's (emblem on)." However silly it is — and Frank expressed his sadness that such an incident was being highlighted — it was a big PR fumble and might prove to be an image that defines a tenure that is plunging into turmoil.

Tottenham conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose at Bournemouth 3-2 and slip to 14th place in the 20-team league. Spurs have won just two of its last 12 league games and the pressure is mounting on Frank and his players, who don't seem to be handling the situation well.

After the game, Micky van de Ven was one of the players who walked over to Tottenham's disgruntled travelling fans and was seen gesturing toward and remonstrating with one of them in an angry exchange.

Later, Cristian Romero — Van de Ven's center-back partner — posted on Instagram a long message in which he apologized to fans for Tottenham's results. A tough-tackling defender, the Argentina international also went in hard on unspecified people at the club.

"At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don't — as has been happening for several years now," Romero wrote. "They only show up when things are going well.

"We'll stay here," he added, "working, sticking together and giving our all to turn things around. Especially at times like this, keeping quiet, working harder and moving forward all together, is part of football." Tottenham fans are increasingly unhappy with the pragmatic style of play under Frank, who arrived in the offseason as the replacement for the fired Ange Postecoglou after leaving fellow Premier League team Brentford.

Postecoglou led Tottenham to the Europa League title — and therefore a return to the Champions League — but only a 17th-place finish in the league, which ultimately cost him his job.

It is the highest-profile role taken on by 52-year-old Frank in a coaching career that includes positions with Denmark's national youth teams and at Brøndby. At Brentford, he was able to work largely away from the limelight and he gained praise and respect for the job he did, keeping the team in the Premier League and causing problems for the biggest clubs in England with his tactical acumen.

The glare at Spurs is much harsher, however.

Frank acknowledged the latest loss was "very, very difficult, really painful." "Of course people are frustrated — that's natural," he said. "It's very tough to sit here right now and we haven't got anything out of overall a good performance."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)