You would have thought things could not have got much worse for Thomas Frank after watching his Tottenham side fall to an agonising 3-2 defeat by Bournemouth. It was another damaging result in a season that has brought plenty of frustration for the Spurs faithful, with their club now 14th in the Premier League after only two wins in 12 matches.

But then came the image that added to the pressure on Frank. Before kick‑off on Wednesday night, he was photographed strolling around the Vitality Stadium with a coffee cup emblazoned with Arsenal branding - a strange choice if you are the manager of a club that shares a fierce rivalry with the Gunners and current league leaders. With the Dane already struggling to win over unhappy Spurs supporters since replacing Europa League-winning Ange Postecoglou in the summer, it was an incident that invited ridicule and left him under more scrutiny.

"I definitely did not notice it," said Frank afterwards. "It would be completely stupid of me to take it if I knew. It's a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked about it. I would never do something that stupid. I think we're definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with a logo of another club."

BBC Sport understands Frank was handed his customary coffee on his arrival at the stadium by a staff member in the cup which was brought by Arsenal, who played at Bournemouth only four days earlier. Neither Frank nor a staff member spotted the Arsenal crest on the cup until it was too late.

But the unfortunate turn of events at Bournemouth was too easy for fans and critics to latch on to after Spurs failed to build on another positive start - just like they did against Sunderland at the weekend where they were held to a 1-1 draw. Mathys Tel scored inside five minutes to give Frank's side a dream start, but Bournemouth hit back to lead through Evanilson and Eli Junior Kroupi. Joao Palhinha made it 2-2 with 12 minutes left, however, it was the Cherries who collected the three points as the departing Antoine Semenyo struck a dramatic winner five minutes into added time.

Tottenham are 14th in the Premier League after 21 games - the exact same position at this stage last season, before Postecoglou seemed to prioritise the Europa League instead. They were eight points above 17th - the position they ultimately finished - but are only six above Nottingham Forest in that place now. Only four teams have had fewer shots this season than Spurs, although they have been clinical, with their 30 goals better than eight other teams. They also rank 16th for touches in the opposition box, but top another unwanted stat - errors leading to shots (25).

And their latest defeat will further hurt Frank, whose future has come into question. "That is very, very difficult, really painful," he told Sky Sports. "I think the players put in everything. To concede a goal five minutes into added time is just so painful. It's very, very hard to take."

"Frank looks shattered," former Newcastle and Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Bags under his eyes, he looks stressed - that is what management does to these guys. He can't go home and put his head on the pillow and get a good eight hours of sleep, he will be tossing and turning all night, thinking of the next training session, the next game."

Tottenham fans have made their frustrations clear on multiple occasions this season. They chanted "boring, boring Tottenham" during the goalless draw against Frank's former side Brentford last week, while the players were also booed off after the Sunderland draw. And after the final whistle at Bournemouth, Palhinha and defender Micky van de Ven exchanged words with the travelling Tottenham faithful, following further jeers and comments aimed at the team. Full-back Pedro Porro also had to be talked into stopping an argument with the supporters by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

"I think the travelling fans were amazing and they supported us throughout the game," said Frank. "The players are frustrated, I'm frustrated. We are all hurt, the fans are hurt. That's absolutely natural. That's why football is emotional. It's just very painful for everyone involved with Tottenham."

Midfielder Palhinha, who is on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich and scored a stunning overhead kick against the Cherries, added: "The fans are showing their frustration and we understand that. We are trying to get victories we should deserve in my opinion. It's tough to speak a lot about momentum because when you lose it just sounds like words. I just want to say keep supporting because the victories will come. It's frustration as I said. I felt we were the best team on the pitch."

Richarlison hit the woodwork and Van de Ven was denied by a brilliant Djordje Petrovic stop, but the fact is Spurs are generally having fewer shots than ever under Frank. Their 16 chances against the Cherries took their season average for shots per Premier League game up to 10.2 - but that is still their lowest average than in any season on record from 1997-98. Despite finishing just outside the relegation zone in the previous campaign, their average was 13.

"We were the only team on the pitch that wanted to win the game," said Palhinha. "Football is like that. Tomorrow is another day. We need to keep pushing. We have been working hard to get wins. Today and tomorrow probably the hangover is going to be really tough, but in football we cannot think too much about what happened."

"To lose in the last minute like they did, they will feel hard done by," former England midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC Sport. "There are games Tottenham have lost this season where they've played poorly and deserved to lose. Today was much better, but I don't know what solace that is for the Tottenham supporters at the moment."

It will not get easier for Frank or Spurs, with an FA Cup third-round tie against in-form Aston Villa on Saturday before a home derby against relegation-threatened West Ham in the league on 17 January.