On how Jess Naz is doing after suffering an ACL injury last weekend…
Martin: “Yeah, she’s doing okay. For any player who suffers an ACL injury, it’s obviously disappointing and frustrating, especially when she has done one before, but she’s been in good spirits the last few days. She’s been able to see specialists and spend time with the players. She has been in good spirits, although we know she will be disappointed inside.”
On how big of a test Man Utd will be this weekend…
Martin: “They’re a team competing for the title. They have world class players and they’re playing on the big stages of the Champions League. They’re a top team in this league. We know it’ll be a tough test, but we need to turn up with the right attitude and apply ourselves correctly.”
With back-to-back games against United – first in the WSL and then the Women’s League Cup – Martin was asked if these two will be defining fixtures in the season…
Martin: “I don’t think these games define our season - not before Christmas, anyway. We approach both games individually. First the league game, which is our full focus, then we follow that with the cup game afterwards. We may need to do things a little differently there, be a bit more creative and innovative in how we set-up. I’ve no doubt the players are up for these games - these are the ones they want to play in. When you’re facing top players and a team competing for the title, you want to show you are competing at that level.”
On how excited about he is about Drew Spence extending her contract…
Martin: “I’m really excited. Drew is someone I’ve spoken about a lot. She goes under the radar in terms of her performances, professionalism, and how she conducts herself. She’s fully deserving of the contract. Her performances have shaped parts of our game - how we approach matches and how we play since I came in. Her professionalism, leadership, and presence in the dressing room are important for the whole group, both younger and older players. I’m absolutely delighted she’s decided to stay.”
On the addition of Lawrence Shamieh earlier in the season to his coaching staff…
Martin: “He’s outstanding. Probably one of the most knowledgeable and dedicated people I’ve worked with. United will definitely feel his loss given what he contributed there. I was delighted Lawrence decided to leave a team competing for the title and in the latter stages of the Champions League to come to Spurs, where he sees an ambitious project. He wants to grow, develop and help us achieve our ambitions.”
A win on Sunday will see our best ever start in the WSL after 11 games…
Martin: “But honestly, my focus is on what we can do for the playing group - how we evolve, develop and get better every week, every session, every game. We’ve had a good start but we want to continue evolving as a club. I don’t think about stats for myself, it’s about the players and staff around me. If we get the points and it becomes something written in the books, brilliant.”
On the progress made against the top four sides this season in terms of result…
Martin: “Any of the so-called ‘big four’ games, we go in wanting to win. There’s no game we ‘should’ win - you must earn it. Sometimes we’ve been dominant, sometimes we haven’t. But we’re building a winning culture. Going into Manchester United, as I said, they’re a world class team competing for the title. We need to control what we can control. If we perform to the levels, we know we can, with and without the ball, we can match anyone. If you look at the progress from our games against Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal, we had progress in those games, understanding what those mean, the feelings, the experience and going in with a different mentality. We now go into these big games with a different mentality.”
On whether he will prioritise one of the United fixtures in the next couple of weeks…
Martin: “They’re both equally important. I won’t rest or rotate players just for the sake of it. Every game we want to win. My job is to put out the team most competitive to start the game. It won’t always be the team that finishes it, but we won’t rest players unnecessarily. We’ll respect Man United in both games and focus on our performance.”
On how confident he is in getting a result this weekend despite the long-term injuries…
Martin: “We can be competitive - we always will be. Whether we have 20 players or 12, we’ll go into the game organised and effective. I have full faith in the group. It’ll take everything from us, but we’ll go in with confidence and the belief we can win.”
On what has been the drastic improvement from last season…
Martin: “The players’ attitude and mentality, the staff’s efforts, and Adam [Jeffrey] and Lawrence coming in with huge knowledge and impact. All of this combined has made us more together, more competitive and enabled us to perform on the pitch.”
Martin on how big of a win last weekend against Aston Villa was…
Martin: “Huge. When you’re not at your best - and we knew we weren’t - you have to own that. But winning when not at your best is a sign of a good team in the making. Our attitude and resilience were excellent, we faced adversity with injuries from the international break, but the players stepped up. I was delighted for them.”
