The man who hired Thomas Frank and Johan Lange reveals key difference between duo

Thomas Frank and Johan Lange are looking to take Tottenham to new heights and the man who hired them two decades ago believes they are both very different characters driven by the same need to succeed.

Frankwas appointed this month as the man to replace Ange Postecoglou as Spurs head coach in the wake of the club winning the Europa League. One of those keen to appoint the Dane was his compatriot Lange, who had wanted to do the same at Aston Villa a few years back only for Steven Gerrard to get the job at that point.

Frank and Lange go way back to their time at Lyngby where the former was a youth coach between 2006 and 2008 and the latter was also involved with the reserves for the club located in the suburbs of Copenhagen. The duo used to share a small office together back then so got to know each other very well.

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The man who hired them both, Birger Jorgensen, has previously spoken about how different the two men who will now steer the Spurs ship are.

"Thomas is Thomas, he walks the talk. He has always been the same and will always be the same," he said in an interview with Sky Sports back in 2021. "He is very hard-working and always in a good mood. Johan is the opposite of Thomas, he keeps his cards close to his chest. But he is a fantastic guy, very smart."

He added: "I spotted them, I hired them, I worked with them. But they have done it themselves. They have taken their chance. We are just happy to have been a part of their education.

"Lyngby is just an ordinary football club but we have a special environment. We are built on curious coaching. You can experiment here. Of course, we try to win our games and be champions. But we are always collecting good people, hard-working people.

"We all have a common thing, we all believe in ourselves, we all know where we are coming from and none of us think we are something we are not. That is what has made us successful, good people who are working hard, being themselves."

On that shared office all those years ago, Jorgensen said it was full of "good people, good coaches, a good environment" and he believes that happiness and having a release through your social life plays a part in successful football journeys. Frank has admitted himself that he ensures he maintains his social life and gets away from football as much as possible when the time is right.

"A lot of clubs believe only in serious people but you need a bit of yourself, a bit of a social life," said Jorgensen. "A football club is about teamwork, otherwise it cannot exist. That is why so many former Lyngby coaches are so successful. We are happy about it and want it to continue."

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