Why are Frank's Tottenham struggling at home?

After a promising start to life as Tottenham manager, Thomas Frank is quickly discovering that managing Spurs brings a whole new level of pressure.

Sunday's chastening 4-1 defeat by Arsenal was one of the most one-sided north London derbies in recent memory and means Spurs have won only one of their past five Premier League games.

The Lilywhites were much improved in an attacking sense during a Champions League trip to champions Paris St-Germain on Wednesday, despite falling to a 5-3 defeat.

After two tough away games, a return to their own stadium to face Fulham would bring much-needed home comforts for most clubs. Not Spurs.

While they have the joint best away record in the top flight this season, their only league victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came against newly promoted Burnley on the opening weekend.

Frank's side have looked blunt in front of their own supporters, with creativity, goals and excitement at a premium.

However, these struggles at home have been rumbling for a while. Spurs have won only three league matches in N17 in the past 12 months, their worst run over a 20-game period for 31 years.

It is a far cry from their unbeaten final season at White Hart Lane in 2016-17 when their haul of 53 points out of a possible 57 at home was the best in the Premier League.

With generally positive displays on the road, why has Frank been unable to make his own ground a fortress?

Former Tottenham midfielders Danny Murphy and Michael Carrick give their verdicts on why it has not been home sweet home for Spurs this season.

Spurs have scored seven goals in six home league games this season, while only Burnley have had fewer shots on target than their 18.

Frank's midfield selections have come under fire for being too defensive. Remarkably, Spurs have made four throughballs this season. Leaders Arsenal have made 43.

"When you look at the make-up of their team, the midfield isn't particularly creative," Murphy told BBC Sport.

"It feels like none of their frontline are playing with any confidence. They look a bit lightweight in the front area of the pitch.

"Away from home, that doesn't matter as much, because they can be more pragmatic - look for the set-plays, play on the counter and be hard to beat - and they don't have the expectation of the 60,000 home supporters to go after teams and really try to win games.

"That makes a difference to players. Away from home, you can kind of do it at your own pace and it is OK for you to be without the ball.

"The games we've seen Tottenham do well in away from home have actually been comfortable at times for them - their win at Everton was a good example of that.

"But that lack of cohesion and rhythm in the front three, where things have changed so much - and even that little tweak in midfield where sometimes it's a 10, sometimes it's three midfielders - it all looks a little bit higgledy-piggledy.

"It means Spurs can look a bit too safe at home, with no-one playing with any belief or confidence to get on the ball."

Five-time Premier League winner Carrick says: "Playing away from home, it is just based on results. But playing at home, there is an onus to play a certain way because of the fans.

"The blame is not just on the midfield - it is a whole team thing. I like Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur. Lucas Bergvall is excellent. It's a good mix of players who can do different things.

"But missing Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke is not going to be easy to cope with. It's going to make a bit of a dent in how attacking you can actually be."

Spurs fans have been quick to get on their side's back, with booing a regular backdrop to home league games this season.

"It does have an effect," says Murphy. "It's a simple case of the anxiety of the crowd is transmitted on to the pitch in the same way their confidence is when they are all for you and things are going well.

"So when things are going badly, the same players who are capable of doing things with the ball, you see them playing with more freedom on the road and they start playing a bit safer at home because they don't want to be the one who gets the moan and the groan from the crowd when they give the ball away.

"It can sometimes take real mental toughness for a player to get through that, and you need a good result or two at home to then go back to playing freer."

Despite only Wolves having a worse record in front of their own fans this season, Carrick and Murphy say Frank will get things right.

"It's early days," says Carrick. "He's trying to change a few things. The priority was defending better as a team and implementing a totally different structure and concentrating on that a bit more.

"As time goes on they will get better."

Murphy says: "Although it's concerning, overall there has been enough improvement under Frank for the fans to have hope things will get better.

"You can't run before you can walk. Of course they would want more points than they have got at home, but I look at them and think they will get better there.

"They just need a bit of luck in the fixture list, where you have your best team available. Get a couple of good wins and you can very quickly change the whole mood.

"Thomas Frank is not daft and I think he sees the problems. He also knows the quality that he has got to come back.

"It is short-term pain for long-term gain for Spurs. I don't think their home form is a problem that is going to last very long once they get their injured players back."