Brentford boss Thomas Frank was full of praise for his side’s spirited display in defeat to Tottenham, but highlighted one key area in which his side let themselves down.
Despite a spirited display, Brentford succumbed to Tottenham’s Premier League quality as they bowed out of the EFL Cup at the semi-final stage.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Frank spoke of his side’s lack of pressing high up the pitch as a factor behind their defeat after initially stating: “First and foremost, I must say I’m very proud of my team.
“The first VAR decision, we were inches from equalising. It was an open game, we had a top attitude, we were brave and an equaliser wouldn’t have been a totally unfair result against a world-class team.
“If you want to go to a final against a top team, you need the margins with you but then they show class to get a second and after that it was game over.
“We need to remember Tottenham is a good team, so maybe in the beginning we could’ve pressed a tiny bit higher but it’s a combination of their quality as well.
FULL MATCH REPORT: Wembley awaits as Tottenham quality perseveres over spirited Brentford
“We gave that goal away but were in control and created chances. I praise the boys but we need to do better. For 65 minutes we completed against a world-class team.
“We were brave, we pressed high, we wanted to play and try and control the game.
“Maybe they had a chance more than us but we created opportunities and if you do that against a world-class team, then we know we need the margins to go our way too.”
On Josh Da Silva’s red card, Frank added: “The way you have to look at it, if you look at the Da Silva, he’s never had a red card before.
“I’ve never seen him go physical into a tackle, he didn’t do it on purpose and I think he caught him.”
