Martin Ho spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday morning, ahead of our Barclays Women’s Super League clash against Leicester City on Sunday (12noon UK).
Here are some key points on what he had to say..
Martin on how Signe Gaupset has settled into the group…
“She’s settled in really well. [She is] Shy as a person, as you can imagine when you come into a new environment and a new Club, the Club obviously being a lot bigger, the surroundings being a lot bigger and the infrastructure being a lot bigger, but she's trained really well. She's settled into the group on the pitch and I think that's maybe where she comes into her own a little bit, when she's on the pitch, she's more relaxed. You can see the level of quality she possesses on the pitch and then away from the pitch. She just needs to settle in with new environments, new culture and also then her surroundings personally. I'm really excited for her and, as a person, she's wonderful, she'll give you everything and she goes about her work very quietly.”
Martin on how Ashleigh Neville will be remembered after her departure from the Club earlier this week…
“She’s a wonderful person and I've alluded to this numerous times in my media, as people have probably seen. In terms of an iconic figure for this football club, she has been part of building this club and the success in helping us getting to the point of where it is now. She's a role model for a lot of young players and a lot of people within our fan base and the squad. The club will make sure that she's remembered in the right way.”
Martin on whether the younger players coming in signals a new era for the Club…
“We will balance the squad with experienced and young players. I think it's important that you have that blend of experience and youth, but we want to make sure that's done in the right way and make sure it's right for the team and for the Club. If you want to look at it as a new era for the team now, we can look at it that way. We're moving in a direction that the Club want to take the team. The Club is very ambitious in terms of where it sees the Women's team and where it wants it to go. I'm really excited to be a part of that and we just want to make sure that we get the right blend between youth and experienced players in the squad and, by doing that, I think it sets you up for success in the future.”
Martin on plans for the Asian Cup in March as Clare Hunt and Toko Koga will depart for their nations…
“We have wonderful players in there. Molly [Bartrip] is a wonderful player, vastly experienced and has a lot of quality. I want to make sure that when we go into that period that we're efficient, we have a plan in terms of what we want to do, and there'll be some adaptation in that part of the pitch 100 per cent. All three of those centre-backs are competing really well now in training and not just going into the Asian Cup, but going into all these league games coming up, they're pushing one another. When it comes to that point where the Asian Cup comes, we need to be adaptable, but we need to have a plan in place as you said and they're things we're already starting to think about.”
Martin asked on how he will ensure that the team build not on just this season, but the future to come…
“We’ve to make sure that we build on the platforms we've built at this moment in time, regarding performance and then the other aspects away from the pitch. I don't look at it from what was in the past, in terms of how it's been previously, I try to focus on what we can control and what I'm trying to apply here with the group of players and staff. I feel we're in a good place. Players and staff have come back in good spirits with good energy and the breaks enable that to happen, being with family and friends and people around them. Going into this second part of the season, we're optimistic. We want to make sure that we continue the work we're doing. We'll be better at it and, hopefully, have a strong second part of the season.”
Martin on the confidence going into the second half of the season and whether a FA Cup run is on the cards…
“Any competition we're in, whether it's the League Cup we were in, whether it's the FA Cup, whether it's the league, we want to make sure that we're competitive in all competitions and we'll do that moving forward. What I don't like to do is say we're going to get there or we're going to win this or we're going to do that because then you definitely open up something for yourself, but what I want to make sure is that we're competitive in all those competitions. Do we want to go and be in the final of an FA Cup? Of course we do. Do we want to be in the top part of the table? Of course we do. But our performances will determine that. Our consistency over the second part of the season will determine that. And if we do that, we put ourselves in a good position.”
Martin on this weekend’s clash against Leicester and Rick Passmoor…
“[It’s] a tough one. I think since Rick gone in there, he has done an outstanding job. They're well organised, they're very aggressive in terms of defensively and, then with the ball, they're very fluid and they're very dynamic going forward, so we know they're going to be a threat. I have a lot of respect for them as a team and I'm glad to see that they've proved a lot of people wrong. We know it's going to be a tough game and I don't think there's any game now that you go into where you think it's a kind of a gimme and you're going to come out with the result. You've got to earn it.”
Martin on Signe’s strongest position…
“When I was at Brann, she played as an eight or a 10, depending on how we played the game and how we settled, so either of those two positions. I think, long-term for her, she'd probably be more as an eight because of her power and speed. I think, as an eight, she can go box-to-box really well. She can play as an isolated ten, which I've been accustomed to when I was in Brann, but she's also played off one of the sides for the national team and worked inside as another midfielder or another central 10. She has the versatility to play in any of those positions and, whatever we set up the game plan and whatever I feel her skill set will be used more, we can use her in all of those three positions.”
Martin on the full-back options and Hanna Wijk coming in…
“I think you want to make sure that you've got different profiles in those positions, which I think we do. Football has now evolved and you see that a full-back isn't a full-back anymore. You see maybe sometimes central midfielders playing there and you sometimes see a centre-back playing there because of the profile that you want. The new players coming in, obviously, Julie [Blakstad] provides us with another option at left full-back. Then you've got Hanna, who's probably one of the up-and-coming talented players in the Sweden Under-23s, on the verge of the national team. She's a very, very experienced player at senior level and at national level, but also in European competition. The opportunity to bring Hanna here, when she had so much opportunity to go to other clubs in this league, was important. She's a young talent, but she's got lots of experience.”
Martin on bringing Maika Hamano in on loan…
“I think Maika got wonderful talent, wonderful ability and, as I said, when the opportunity presented itself, it was important that we could move and be part of that discussion to bring her here. My first discussion with her was very interactive, she's very personable and I know what she possesses and I felt that her qualities, where she can play in two or three different positions, would give us some cover in certain moments but also enable her to come in and put competition in certain positions. She gives us a different profile, a different dynamic and a technical ability. Then, off the ball, her pressing, her defensive capabilities and intelligence is very, very high and it's something that we wanted to add to the group.”
