On how he would reflect on the season as we approach the finale…
“It's been positive in numerous aspects, on the pitch, off the pitch, there's been a lot of learnings and a lot of developments. It's given us really strong foundations to build from in the future. So, pleased how it's gone, but finishing fifth doesn't win you anything, it doesn't give you anything and we want to win, we want to compete, we want to win trophies. But, a lot of pride and I'm really, really proud of the players in terms of what they've done, and the staff, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
On what are the key areas for next season…
“Depth of the squad, the consistency in performance throughout the season, embracing and performing in those big games more consistently throughout the 90 minutes. We've had parts where we've performed for maybe 45, or I think Manchester United at the [Tottenham Hotspur] Stadium was probably the one where we performed for large parts, but getting more consistency in that part of our game, then also evolving and growing in mentality that if we want to compete at that top level that we have to psychologically be strong. Then, finding ways we can internally grow the business, the organisation, the infrastructure around us to make sure that we can provide the players with everything they need, from a football perspective and a personal perspective, but also ways that we can evolve this club to be recognised as one of the best, not just in England but in Europe.”
On what the summer recruitment business looks like…
“A lot of our business is done, so we've been proactive in the window already. We've been really proficient and really selective of what we want, we've made sure that we're going to add value to the group in terms of the quality that we bring in, in certain positions, and I know that we're going to have to lift our levels going into next season. By doing that you need the depth, we just need to make sure that we can allow the players that come in to adapt, we can allow the players that are here and still with us now to really perform and develop themselves, so that we can be more competitive going into next season.”
On what he has made of Brighton during the second half of the season…
“They've always been a good team, they have a wonderful squad, they have wonderful players, they've got some of the best, Fran Kirby being one of them is probably one of the best in Women's football to put on a football shirt. I know they're well organised, very fluid with the ball, probably one of the best footballing teams in the league, and I think they've started to really pick up some momentum at the back end of the season, and credit to the group of players and Dario [Vidošić] especially after what he's been through personally. He shows a lot of character and the type of person he is and congratulations to them on getting to that FA Cup final. I know this weekend is going to be a tough game, but it'll be a wonderful spectacle for women's football because both teams want to play, both teams want to press, and I think it'll give us an opportunity to have a wonderful game of football.”
On the things that have pleased him most during his maiden season in the WSL…
“The mentality of the group in terms of how we've reacted and how we've done things over the season. We had a really good start and we had a bit of a bumpy road in the second part of the season, with how we faced those teams and the adversity we faced, but I think our reaction to that and some parts of those games we performed well, so probably the mentality of the group, the development and growth of the group. But, also away from the pitch, the infrastructure and the processes we put in place to allow this team, not just short-term but long-term, to be successful, and are now making sure that we can build momentum going into the summer and onwards into the new season.”
On how proud he is to be nominated for the WSL’s Manager of the Season award…
“It's a humbling moment to be recognised alongside Andre [Jergletz] and Rene [Slegers], and there's some other wonderful managers that probably deserve recognition within that also, but the players and staff that I have around me, I'm blessed that I have good players and good staff around me and a good leadership group that support me and back me. I'm making sure I have good family and friends around me that lift me when I need it and also tell me when I need to be told. I'm the one who has to sit here in front of media and in front of cameras to talk about if we win or we lose, but I think the applause and the praise should go to a lot of the staff and players. They do the hard work behind the scenes continuously and I'm the one who just has to maybe provide an environment and some guidance alongside that. It's a nice moment to be recognised, but it's a collective one for us.”
On mental health and how important it is for people to speak to each other, particularly men…
“We come under a lot of scrutiny when we don't win, which is fine because we're responsible for it. When we win, we get praise, sometimes we don't, but at the end of the day you have to look back on not just the individual who's sitting in front of you as head coach, but the person behind it. There's a lot of people that will face a lot of scrutiny and maybe mentally don't know how to cope with it and don't know how to find a way out of it, then maybe take a different route and that's the route we want to minimise. I'm really big on that, making sure that we can provide support not just for players, but for staff and making sure that they're in a place where they can feel comfortable, their wellbeing and their mental state is steady. Seeing that video [the media interview with the family of the late Matt Beard] was sad because it doesn't just affect the individual who's in place, it affects the people around them. God bless Matt, Debbie, Harry and the rest of the family because it's a really sad thing and we should really speak about this more. We're talking about providing more for not just head coaches and managers, also for staff in general in any walk of life. I think we should give a little bit more than we maybe do to each other, but also there should be probably more support mechanisms around that.”
On focusing on the area of the squad that sees players hit double figures in goals and assist to challenge the top sides in the WSL…
“100 per cent - and I think if you look at the goals, obviously the numbers which stand out as a goal scored or assists that have been contributed to performance, but there's probably a lot of moments where we haven't capitalised on certain chances which are big within games. We have a spread of goals throughout the team, do you want that focal point to get you maybe 10 plus goals a season? Of course you do, we've got some players in the round six, seven mark and I think for us we need to continue to have a spread of goals throughout the team because I think that's healthy, that you don't just rely on one person, heavily put pressure on one person, because when that person's removed then what's next, you can't just replace them with that same amount of goals, so making sure there's a spread throughout the team. But the offensive part of the pitch is definitely something we're going to look at and address more for the depth of that in that area. It's more the depth of the squad in that area that we can impact, change and develop games how we want them to be, then finding ways, as I said, we can drop the average age of the squad and we can make the squad more youthful. we can invest in our youth academy, which we will do, and I'm making sure that we can make the right decisions not just for me, but for the club - for the future and the next generation also.”
On whether he expects a weakened Brighton side following their progress to the FA Cup final later this month…
“The depth of quality within their squad and the player quality is very high. The players that they were able to change to and going to this game, they still have two weeks going to that final so there's a lot of they have a lot of time and I'd expect them to be full strength. “It's going to be a really interesting game, it's going to be spiteful in terms of from both teams but it's going to be really possession-based, two teams that want to dominate the game.”
On how to keep everyone’s feet on the ground for next season and to avoid falling backwards in the table the following term…
“That's a key part. I don't think there's anyone who's probably went back-to-back in that position of fifth and got higher than that next season. As I said before, fifth doesn't win you anything and we should never be satisfied with that. That's progress on what we wanted to do and we've taken steps, but along the way we've rode our luck at times if we're honest. We've also had a lot of good performances, but there's been some performances that we would expect a lot more from and in defeat and how heavy they were. So, there's lots of good parts we can take, lots of other parts need to be better. We will review it as a club collectively, as staff, when this final game is done. We'll have individual conversations with players about the expectation going to next year and know what that's going to be like. We know there's going to be other pressure. We know when you invest in a club and you invest in a team that brings more pressure, but you look at that we're in these positions for a reason and we need to embrace that pressure. I'm just making sure that the players understand that if we want to be a top team that's sustainable - in domestic and European competitions - we have to go three, four, five, six, seven levels higher than we are now.”
On Olga Ahtinen after she signed a new, long-term contract with the club…
“Olga is a wonderful person first and foremost, and that's the key part for me. As the player, you can work with them, you can develop them and you can help them reach their ambitions and objectives they set individually. But, training-wise, exceptional. One of the best people I've worked with in terms of a footballer capacity, as a human, as a professional. The way she conducts herself, the way she sets example and leads by example in how she does things, not just with words but with action. I think there's a lot more in Olga that's to come. We need to make sure that we continually challenge Olga to push her levels and we are doing that, then making sure that we give her a safe space where she feels comfortable, confident and motivated to perform. She's had some injuries along the way, she had some niggles along the way which has maybe disrupted the season a little bit. We're just trying to keep on the straight and narrow that we keep it injury free. But we've seen early in the season, we played her in numerous positions and she was effective. She scored against Everton and she's had other good impacts in the games we've had. So, I'm delighted she's staying because she'll be key for us.”
On how he would reflect on Toko Koga and Clare Hunt’s performances after they both won the club’s Player of the Season awards…
“When I came in, it was for me to assess the group and see what was right. Clare [Hunt] and Toko [Koga] performed and Molly [Bartrip] unfortunately picked up an injury in pre-season and ruled it out for a large part of that first part [of the season]. Then you're just trying to build a consistency with the group and if you look at Toko as an individual, as a player, for someone who's come in at 19 and now has just turned 20, is performing at such a high-level, as an individual and is well above her years in maturity, football understanding. For her character and personality, as a player, is outstanding for us and she's playing well above her years. Clare then complemented that with her performances, how she's done things, the way she's done things as a player and just tried to enable them to play to their strengths when they've been together. When you get a partnership that's working, we kept so many clean sheets, we were performing well in front of goal and defending our goal - and we just tried to keep a consistency with that. Along with the players in there, that back-line and Lize [Kop] have been outstanding. Then, collectively defensively, we've had large moments where we've been good but small moments where we haven't.”
Watch | Martin Ho's Press Conference
