Frank excited and undaunted ahead of semi-final

Brentford boss Thomas Frank says he’s excited but undaunted at facing off against Jose Mourinho in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham.

Frank’s side head to north London full of confidence following an unbeaten run of 16 matches in addition to claiming the scalps of four Premier League side en-route to the first semi-final of a major cup competition in the club’s history.

The Bees also sit in the fourth spot in the Championship following last Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth and go into the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium aided by a weekend off following the postponement of their match against Bristol City on Saturday.

Spurs are fourth in the Premier League following Saturday’s comfortable 3-0 win over Leeds and Frank admits his side face a huge challenge, but one his players should not be afraid of.

“It’s a massive game for us. We’ve never been in the semi-final of one of the two cup competitions before but we are looking forward to playing,” Frank said.

“We will do our best to attack and take our chances against a top team in the world with top players and a top manager.

“We know Tottenham are by far the favourites. Everyone is talking about they haven’t won a trophy for so long, but they have the best manager for that in Jose Mourinho who has a winning formula.”

The match will be the first time the two clubs have met in 21 years with the last encounter also being in the League Cup – a second-round match that Tottenham won 2-0 at White Hart Lane.

Despite not being familiar opponents, Frank said he expects Mourinho to know everything about his team and is aware the former Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager will not treat the Bees lightly as he aims to win the competition for a fifth time with a third club.

“One thing I have learned over the years about Mourinho is that there are no details that are too small and they will be prepared for this game and will do whatever they can to win it,” he said.

“He is one of the greatest of all time and it will be a privilege to meet him and face his team.

“Not having been a top player himself I like his story because it is the same background I have and I admire him a lot for having a career where he has managed some of the biggest clubs in the world and won trophies at all of them. That tells me everything about him.

“But when then the whistle blows, he is just another bloke standing in the dugout and we are competing and we both want to win.”