“I think [the difference between] everyone’s expectations from last year to now is that we finished fifth, so [now] they expect us to finish in the top three, and we should be competing for this and this. We’re 15, 16 months into a totally different direction, a journey that the club want to go on. And if we want to be where those teams are — like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, London City — then we have to take time to build this in a sustainable way.
“That means developing a younger team, which is the direction we’re going in, and making sure that we can build that with some consistency. I’m in no kind of panic mode, we know the areas we can be better in and they will follow.
““If you take Toko [Koga], we expect her to be playing like a 27- or 28-year-old senior player, and she’s 20.
“We have a very young squad. I think five or six players in the starting 11 on the weekend were under 24. We have to push them and challenge them and make sure they know there’s an expectation, but also there’s a reality to their growth, their development, their maturity as players.”
“Some of the players have taken time because we’ve had players that have come in from totally different playing styles. So most of them have played in teams that counter attack. When you have possession, it’s a totally different situation. I think they’re starting to find their feet a little bit more in a new environment, more demands, more expectation, different ways of working compared to their old clubs.
“There’s so many factors, but actually, what we need to focus on is what we can do as ourselves, and I think we’re in a good place. We need to be able to take that work from last year and take it forward, consolidate everything this year, be competitive domestically in the league and the cups especially, and make sure that we can we can continue to win. In the future, that’ll bring silverware back to the club.”
“Tottenham has always been a Champions League club for me. But I’m a fan so I can’t really talk for the other players. When I came to the club, I said that I want to get top three. But you also need to be realistic and to see where the team has been before. The transformation that Martin has done in a season is unbelievable. I don’t think anyone else could do that. That tells you everything about him. He’s one of the greatest coaches I’ve worked with and I think everyone that comes here, one of the reasons is because of him. We all trust him and the process.
““You can call [the past two results] a dip in form but I still feel like we also showed our qualities in those games. It’s just about ourselves. We maybe need to change our mentality a bit, find that fire and dig a bit deeper when we play those top teams. I feel like maybe it’s good that it’s come because it had to at some point. It’s about how we respond.
“We also have to realize where this team has been. Two years ago, it was a relegation club. We need to realize how quickly it has [changed]. But, of course, we have expectations and levels that we want to come to and we know that we can. I feel like we’re working so well … we just have to believe in everyone.”
“I don’t think one or two defeats against the top, top teams with the calibre of players they have and the depth of squads they have should dent the direction we’re going in, and dismiss all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. The playing group have huge potential.
“I believe we have probably some of the biggest talent in world football in this squad, and we’ve got to enable those players to fulfil that potential and talent. And when they do, I believe you’ll start to see more consistent performances like we had in our first 60 minutes over a longer period for this team.”