Spurs chairman Daniel Levy says Thomas Frank does not need to win the Premier League title this season – but he does need to deliver it “as soon as possible”.

This summer, Levy made the controversial decision to sack Europa League-winning boss Ange Postecoglou due to a 17th-place Premier League finish, replacing him with the former Brentford boss.

After appointing Frank, Levy made the declaration that winning the Europa League was not enough – as he wanted Spurs to win the Premier League and Champions League.

And in conversation with Gary Neville for The Overlap, Levy said Frank is not under immediate pressure to win the league, but that pressure may soon come.

“Whenever you appoint a coach, you always believe it’s right,” Levy said. “You need a lot of ingredients for it to be right.

“Thomas is a highly intelligent individual, a fantastic way about him in terms of communication. I think he will be great at both developing young players and older players and making them better. He gets the style of football we want to play.

“He understands Rome wasn’t built in a day. We haven’t said to him that we want to win the Premier League this year.”

Asked when Frank is expected to win the league, Levy replied: “As soon as possible, but no pressure. We just want to compete at the highest level.”

Why Levy sacked Postecoglou

Levy stole the headlines when he revealed Spurs’ desire to win the Premier League and the Champions League – something the club have never done in their history.

Spurs came close under Mauricio Pochettino’s reign via a second-placed Premier League finish in 2017 and reached the Champions League final in 2019.

Asked what has changed to make him say that, Levy replied: “Nothing has changed in terms of our ambition. It’s always been the case. After winning the Europa League, thanks to Ange, we’ve got a taste of it, but it’s not enough. And it’s never been enough.

“We’ve been in 16 or 17 semi-finals, we’ve been in six or seven finals and we haven’t won enough. We need to use that as a springboard to keep winning, that’s what it’s all about. We’ve won two trophies in the last 20+ years.

“We’ve been so close so many times. I can’t really answer why because I’m not the one that picks the team, picks the players.”

Spurs sacked Postecoglou despite delivering the club’s first trophy in 17 years – and only the second of the Levy era at the north London club.

The Australian coach delivered on his promise to always win a trophy in his second season – and even declared that “season three is better than season two” during the club’s Europa League trophy parade, before his sacking.

“Of course, the decision always has to rest with me,” said Levy. “But it’s always a collective decision. We have a board of directors but under that we have a group of technical staff and they advise.

“Ange just won us a trophy, a European trophy. It’s highly significant, it will always be in our history and we were asking him to leave. But we can’t lose sight of the fact we finished 17th in the league, we lost 22 Premier League games. It’s impossible for Tottenham to be in that position.

“We had to take the emotion out of it and we had to give some data points as to why we decided to do what we did.

“No-one likes telling someone they’re losing their job. But it’s the nature of football. We’re there to win. We won a European trophy and it was fantastic. But we also need to win on all fronts. The Premier League says it all.”

Levy on fan protests: ‘When I’m gone, I’ll get the credit’

Levy also addressed criticism over his ownership, amid regular protests from Spurs fans against both him and the ENIC Group, which also has a stake in the club.

The 63-year-old believes his role in building the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium means he will only get credit for his work once he has left the club – before adding that he shares in the Spurs fans’ pain when they do not succeed on the pitch.

“When I’m not here, I’m sure I’ll get the credit,” said Levy.

“When you come here and look at this wonderful building – and the fact that other clubs are trying to copy what we’re doing – it should be a sign that we did something a bit bold and right.

“Of course [fan unrest] hurts, but their pain is also my pain. I want to win and when we’re not playing well and not winning, believe me – I suffer as well.

“It ruins my whole weekend. It’s horrible. You’re in this to win. When you don’t win, it’s not fun.”

One of the criticisms Levy gets is an overinvolvement in the football side of the clubs, despite a strong track record in the commercial success of Spurs.

Asked if that criticism is fair, Levy replied: “I would say that’s completely unfair. People who have worked in this club and understand the workings of the football side of this club, I do not interfere at all in the decision-making of this player versus that player. It is always the coach and the technical staff.

“The only way I get involved is when they decide which player they want to buy or sell, I will go out and do my very best for this football club. But I’m not interfering in the football decisions.

“It’s not different from any other club. It’s not just me, it’s a board. When we went through the decision to appoint the decision to appoint Thomas, there were a number of people involved in which I was just one of them.”

What else did Levy say to the Overlap?

On whether Thomas Frank will be backed in the transfer market…

“We will support him to the best of our ability. If you look at transfer fees, we’ve been in the top four spenders since the stadium opened. We’ve spent around £700m net on new players.

“This isn’t just about money, it’s about some luck, having the right balance in the team, having the right coach. A lot of things have to come together.

“I very much hope Thomas brings all the right ingredients to put the club where it deserves, which is right at the top.”

On whether the Europa League triumph is his best achievement at Spurs…

“It has to be. Also when we came back here a few days later and did the parade. The outpouring emotion for everyone to see around the world was amazing.

“It was nothing to do with the money, it was all about: we needed a trophy. I promise you. The money you realise a few days later that we’re in the Champions League. But it was about getting a trophy. It’s my proudest moment.”

What is success for Spurs in the next three years?

“We need to compete at the highest level, we need to consistently try to win trophies. That’s what it’s all about.

On Man City’s financial charges with the Premier League…

“It’s going through a process which has gone on for far too long. It has to be brought to a conclusion for the good of the game.

“It’s unfortunate that we haven’t been able to sort things internally. [The reason why it’s taking so long is] the lawyers, the lawyers are going to earn a lot of money over this.”