Martin on his first north London derby…
“It's a new experience for me. Not a new experience for most of the players, but maybe for a few of them. We’re really excited, and the players are ready to respond in the right way after a disappointing game last weekend. We're in a good place and the players have trained extremely well. The energy's good, so yeah, I'm excited.”
Martin on our history against Arsenal in the WSL…
“Well, you can't control what's in the past. We have to control what we can and that's in front of us, that's our performance going into the weekend and our mentality going into that game. We have to play the game and not the occasion. I know that's obviously a big thing for the supporters and we'll make sure we put in a good performance for them. But we have to take away the emotion from the game and focus on what we can control.”
Martin on challenging towards the top of the table in the WSL…
“I haven’t come here just to take part. I want to make sure I can progress this team and help us achieve our ambitions. We know it’s obviously a big ask to go into that top three, it is a small group that go into the Champions League, but I believe if we get things right, we can. But, over the course of the season, you need a really consistent level - individually and collectively - to be able to get into that. We’ve to make sure we show that more now, but we want to keep ourselves in around that top three and that’s the most important part now until we get to the Christmas break.”
Martin on the pressure of the north London derby…
“I just take every game as it comes. There’s a lot for the fans to look at, those big games, they enjoy them like this one on the weekend. The players maybe have certain ones they look to, but I just look at the fixtures as they come. Every game I know in this league is competitive, it's tough, and the league now is at a totally different level to where it was before. This fixture is obviously new to me - it's a new experience. I’ve got a good feeling for that now because you see how many tickets we've sold for the game, so the fans are coming out, which you respect, and we thank a lot for them coming in their numbers. But I don't look up to any fixture, I just take everyone as it comes.”
On whether Arsenal feel vulnerable at the minute following Wednesday’s defeat to Bayern Munich…
“With a team like that, they've got wonderful players. Renee’s a wonderful manager. They’re the champions of Europe. They were in a good position in the Champions League the other day and one defeat doesn’t make you a bad team. Are they vulnerable? No. I wouldn't say they're vulnerable because they probably want to respond. Like I said with us from the game on the weekend (against London City Lionesses), we’ve had a disappointing performance, and you want to respond. So, hopefully, it's fire against fire - which makes for a good game.”
Martin on whether he has been briefed about the importance of the north London derby…
“No, I know how important is. You get a feel for that when you're just external, when you're watching this type of game, you know how competitive it is and how much it means to supporters. I know what it means from a Men's side, from a rivalry, so I'm very well aware that it's an important game. It was the same in pre-season, I made the players aware that it was an important game too because no matter if it's a friendly or not, you want to make sure you show your best. I know we're in for a good game on the weekend and we need to make sure that we perform.”
Martin on whether Brisbane Road could be used an advantage this weekend…
“I think we could. In our own surroundings, it can have a big positive effect. We know exactly what the feel is at Brisbane Road. We’ve had a really good start to the season at Brisbane Road, up to now, and we have to make sure we continue that. We have to make that place a fortress for people to come to and we have to make it difficult for people when they come there. We've done that so far this season, we've had a good record there and we've performed well - and I want to make sure we continue that on the weekend.”
On the competition between Bethany England and Cathinka Tandberg…
“Both of them are competing with each one other well. We need to understand that there's two really solid profiles there that actually add a lot of value to this team. Whatever games suit them, and whatever kind of game plan we go with, I make sure I put the best players out for that fixture. Now there’s more competition in the squad, it's starting to get more competitive. So whatever the game presents for us on the weekend and what we feel we need to go with, we'll make that decision, come tomorrow.”
Watch | Martin Ho speaks to the media ahead of Sunday's clash with Arsenal