Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank faced boos from his own fans following Thursday’s goalless draw at his former club Brentford, but the Danish coach says he understands supporters’ frustration and believes success will eventually win them over.

Chants of “boring, boring Tottenham” rang out during the match, with fans also singing the names of former Spurs players. When Frank went to acknowledge the travelling supporters at the final whistle, he was met with a chorus of boos.

“It’s not perfect, we want to be a free-flowing team,” Frank said at a press conference on Friday ahead of Sunday’s clash with Sunderland.

“I think a couple of things I want to reinforce positively are our last two away performances — I thought we were very good defensively. We’re working very hard on the offensive part of our game and I understand the frustrations. I share them too.”

Spurs are currently 12th in the Premier League, having won only one of their last four league matches. Frank cited injuries to key attacking players Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski as a factor in their disappointing run.

“Yesterday we lost the ball through unforced errors 25 times,” he said. “All of that can be adjusted. Then there’s the patterns and structure, getting into the right positions. And we’re still missing some very important offensive players. I don’t want to keep naming them — I’m getting a little bored, very bored, and sick of mentioning them.”

When asked if he can succeed at Spurs without fan backing, Frank remained optimistic.

“I’ll try to turn that question around: if you are successful, the Tottenham fans will be behind you,” he said. “Yes, I was booed last night, but I’m sure there are plenty of fans behind us as well.”

Spurs host an impressive Sunderland side on Sunday, currently seventh in the table after holding Manchester City to a goalless draw on Thursday.

“We need to do everything we can to put on an attacking, intense, front-footed performance against Sunderland in two days’ time,” Frank added. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure we do that. If we do and get three points, that’s seven from three, which would be a very good output.”