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Why Tottenham's dire home form should top Frank's fix list

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Are Tottenham's attackers lacking end product? (1:49)

Craig Burley and Steve Nicol discuss Tottenham's attacking options this season as they suffer 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. (1:49)

Some Chelsea fans used to cheekily refer to Tottenham Hotspur's old stadium, White Hart Lane, as "Three Point Lane" owing to their stellar record at the ground.

Fans would be forgiven for putting that moniker on their current stadium after a torrid run of form, with just three of their previous 18 home matches -- the worst record for any Premier League team in this period. The latest installment of Spurs' home woes came on Sunday when visitors Aston Villa fought back from a goal down courtesy of stunning goals from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendía, stealing all three points.

The majority of that dismal run came under previous boss Ange Postecoglou. But it is the incumbent Thomas Frank who must find a solution, and it will not provide confidence that he could not quite explain why.

"I hope I can. Maybe, I don't think it's that simple," Frank said, adding that he thought the team showed promise against Burnley on the opening day of the season and a "good first half" against Wolves.

"I think this game [should have been] a draw, a clear draw and we could easily have won instead of Villa and then it would be a different narrative," he said.

It is a home record that goes against Frank's managerial record. In the three years since guiding Brentford to the Premier League, he boasted an admirable 42% win rate at home, despite comparatively meagre resources.

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1:15
Hutchison: Not time to panic if you're Spurs

Don Hutchison believes now is not to time to panic if you're Spurs fans despite their 2-1 lose at home to Aston Villa.

Spurs' issues last season, which saw them finish 17th in the Premier League, went much deeper than their home form and left them with a stick or twist decision on Postecoglou. That Nottingham Forest have faced the same dilemma this week and landed on the same decision -- firing the Australian manager after just 39 days -- may have buried any possible support for the idea that Spurs would have been better keep him.

Maybe it is in Frank's benefit, too. Even after Sunday's defeat, the Dane headed down the tunnel to the sound of general applause.

Postecoglou's implosion at Forest will have given Spurs a glimpse of what could have been, and made them more grateful for what they have. However, Frank won't perennially be able to ride on this wave of goodwill.

As Postecoglou alluded to in his fiery final news conference at Forest, it doesn't take much for the tide to turn.

The broad narrative around Spurs is that they are in a good place. But, the numbers don't back that up. Going into last weekend's fixtures, they were outperforming their attacking and defensive xG by a greater margin than any other club.

Frank was defiant about his side's performance in the loss to Villa, hailing their defensive efforts as "excellent." But dig a little deeper into the numbers and you'll find that Spurs had just one shot more than Villa and their open-play xG (0.24) was lower than Villa's (0.37).

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They had the joint-best defensive record in the league going into Sunday's clash, with just five goals conceded in seven matches. But two of those seven games were against newly-promoted teams while both Wolves and West Ham had finished 16th and 14th in the league last year, respectively.

It is too early to make any grand conclusions about Frank's tenure after 12 games in all competitions -- in a similar period when Postecoglou took over, Spurs were top of the table.

How the north London side fare in their next eight games will provide a clearer answer on their pedigree, and of Frank.

Across the next month, Spurs will face Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in the league. Monaco, Copenhagen and Paris Saint-Germain await in the Champions League, while there is also a trip to St. James' Park for a fourth-round Carabao Cup clash against Newcastle United.

It's a tricky run of fixtures. Perhaps it is a saving grace for Spurs that just three of them are at home.