Presser Points | Spurs vs Man Utd, Women's Super League | Martin Ho
Here are some key points from what he had to say…
On how the squad is looking after the international break…
“It's always good when the players go away. They represent their countries and that's obviously a privilege to do that. We've had some good performances throughout that, Lenna [Gunning-Williams] picked up a trophy and an honour for the [England] Under-23s, which is good to bring back into the group around a winning mentality, winning edge. There's been loads of good performances throughout and we're in a good place.”
On how he reflects on the season with three more games left to play…
“It hasn't finished yet, we've still got three to go and so far, we're pleased in terms of the work we've done. Are we happy with every result now? Do we think we could have got more out of certain games? Definitely yes. Could we have performed better in certain games? Yes, and that's the consistency I've spoken about since the start, that you need a very clear consistency from the start to the end of the season to enable you to be in those top places. You need to make sure you're on top of your game in a lot of periods and maybe we've had some parts where we've been off it, and we know that. I think we can be relatively pleased with what we've done but this club, myself and the players, want more and we expect to be competing in latter stages of competitions, competing for domestic honours and competing for those top three or four spots, so we know we have work to do.”
On the learning experiences from our previous two games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Chelsea and Everton…
“{For the game against] Chelsea, being more ruthless in their box when we need to be. We had numerous chances in that game to convert and we didn't. I thought the performance was relatively good and in [the game against] Everton, we just didn't get going. That was probably one of those performances throughout the season that you have where we didn't get any rhythm, we didn't get any consistency, we weren't aggressive enough with the pressure and we came out second best on that day. We're not perfect, we're not going to get it right all the time but that was definitely one of those games against Everton this year where we've been off it. But, apart from that, I think we've had relatively good parts of performances when we've been there. We just need to make sure we find the consistency, we play the actual game and not play the occasion of playing at the stadium.”
On whether the latest international break came at a good time to reset after recent run of results…
“You can look at it both sides and it gives you an opportunity to come away from that run of games and results. Largely, looking at it with disappointment that we've conceded goals in the way we conceded them and obviously not got wins out of those games, but there’s large parts of our performances we can be happy with and we can take forward. On the other side of the coin, as a Head Coach, you're nervous when the international break comes because we seem to have a bad omen with them at the moment. Every time we have one, we seem to be picking up injuries when they're coming back. Two sides of the coin, but you have to look at it with a positive mindset and that now presents opportunity for someone else to come into the team.”
On the goals conceded in recent games and the lack of clean sheets compared to the start of the season…
“You can look at different parts of it and different areas of it. Within those games, you probably had a consistent run of a backline, which then gives confidence and belief and probably gets a rhythm. We've had injuries in that backline all the way across it that we've had to make changes and adapt, which is also fine. It's not excuses, there may be some other factors if you're asking, but actually I think times we've just gifted goals. We haven't defended properly, we haven't been as efficient as we usually are, and also on the flip side of the coin, you can look and say, have teams been ruthless against us? City, for example, had six shots on target and scored five and if we look at three of those goals, we've handed them the goals. Arsenal the same. We look at it with a different eye, but I think there's parts of it in terms of performance level, us in terms of concentration and there may be at times a rhythm as a whole team when you have to make changes due to injuries - that definitely causes a little bit of rhythm, disjointment within the team. But they are professionals for a reason, they perform at a high level at this club because they're good players and we have to make sure that we get the best out of every player.”
On having that extra edge to win the reverse fixture after United’s comeback at Leigh Sports Village earlier in the season…
“The last game was definitely exciting for the neutral, I'll tell you that. We go up three, they come back and I thought the last part of the game, we managed it quite well and they have a player like [Fridolina] Rolfo when you're bringing on that level of quality and she pops up in two moments to score two goals. Maybe tactically at the end of that game, it could have been better for myself in terms of how we set up and the way we done things maybe. But, we can take a lot of confidence from that game because I think in the game we controlled large parts, we had numerous opportunities within that game and I thought our execution of the tactical game plan was very, very good. These are the games the players, especially them being in the stadium, want to play in, and you want to make sure you're competitive and if these are the teams you want to push in the future, then we have to make sure we're competitive in these games.”
On what to expect from the game with United this weekend…
“Competitive, a bit of needle, bit of bite in it and definitely one with high quality. I think both teams possess really good qualities and really good players. They have really good ideas of how they see the game and we kind of have to go into this game with a totally different mindset now, build off the positive aspects of the performances we've had in the games where we haven't come out with results in the last three or four. But, we're in a good spell, energy is good around the group and we know we have to perform at this level and keep building on what we're doing going into next season.”
On whether this is the most difficult spell as our Head Coach for Spurs…
“I think the most difficult spell probably managing Spurs. There's always going to be pressure. It's a huge club with huge history, huge backing and huge expectation. I know any game we go into, we're expected to push, we're expected to be competitive at minimum and we want to perform to win. These games we've had have been difficult, don't get me wrong, but we have to try and change the perspective and the narrative on it. We're disappointed not winning games but also what aspects can we take away that we can take with us for learning.”
On the appointment of Goalkeeping Coach Ian Willcock…
“Firstly, I want to say thanks to Chris [Williams] because he's played a huge part in the last 12 months I've been here, and beyond. Now, Ian comes in and can continue that work and will add so much developmental mindset, a lot of experience of what it takes to be a top goalkeeper in this league with some of the ones he's been able to win. He also brings an energy and an enthusiasm to the group from a personal perspective that is infectious around staff and players that you can feel the energy. His attention to detail and his work ethic are things that when I worked with him before always stand out for me and a very committed individual who will give everything to make sure that the goalkeepers, the outfield players will also succeed.”
On competing in the World Sevens tournament this summer…
“It's a different format, it's a different game. It's got more of a kind of fun edge to it that maybe enables the players to be a bit freer and probably what it does is definitely draws attention to women's sports, women's football, which I think is good. On a separate note, it's a really good thing for people to be involved in and it's good for us as a club to be involved in. I think it helps you definitely from a commercial perspective to build a brand and a profile, but also enables you to be competitive and I think we'll go into it with the mindset to enjoy it, to be competitive and allow the players to express themselves. It has really good pros and cons for it and against it, but we're all in and I think a lot of teams are within this league, so it's going to be exciting.”
On what he has learnt about himself this season…
“I've learnt that I've got a lot of work to do. I've learnt that I'm a very young manager and an experienced manager at this level. [I’m] very highly critical of what I do in terms of I have to give more, I have to do more, I have to find better ways we can work better and be smarter. I think that's probably a big thing is working smarter, not just working more. There are levels I've got to learn around leadership management of how I do things, but also how I can best support the players and staff on a daily, weekly, monthly basis and so on. But also learnt that I believe I belong at this level, that I can help this club move forward, but under no illusion, having that I have a lot of work to do as Head Coach. I'm very young but I'm probably one of those people who want to educate myself every day, wants to learn, goes to study visits quite a lot, invest so much time in my own development to make sure that I can be the best I can be for the group of players and staff.”
On whether, at this stage of the campaign, if he can take a step back and see how successful it has been so far…
“I totally agree and that's maybe some things people want to hear and not want to hear. We have to be real of where we've been and where we've come to, the amount of changes and adaptations we've made this season. It's not small, it's big. So, we have to sometimes pinch ourselves and step back and say, ‘do you know what? Yeah, we do expect more and we want more and we expect more in certain games and certain moments’. But if we step back and we look at it after the season's finished, I think we'd look back with a lot of pride and be kind of proud of what we've achieved in this season, knowing that we've built really strong foundations now for the future, for us as a club, for the team and hopefully for the next generation of players a lot further down the line. We've got to make sure that these three games were really competitive and we push now to make sure that we can finish as high as we can.”
Watch | Press conference in full
