Martin Ho prepares for Manchester United rematch while cultivating a “winning culture” with Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur Women hope to progress to the semi-final of the Subway Women’s League Cup for the first time in their history in their second trip to Leigh Sports Village this month.

At the weekend, Manchester United held the Lilywhites to a 3-3 draw in the Barclays Women’s Super League, despite going 3-0 down in the early stages of the match.

Spurs’ head coach, Martin Ho addressed the media ahead of this weekend’s rematch.

How important is the league cup?

Ho stated that he sees all competitions as important, with none bearing a stronger importance than others, and reinforced his desire to win and bring success to the club:

“It’s really important. I won’t disrespect any competition - FA Cup, League Cup, or league fixtures. I want to win, the Club wants to win, and the fans want to win. I want to bring success here. You’ve probably seen that in the competition this term that I’ll rotate if needed, but it will be for the best of the team to win the game, and it won’t be much rotation. Everything we do is to win the game and build a strong, winning culture.”

Spurs’ positive start

Currently Spurs are level on points with their total in the WSL last season, proving the positive impact of having Ho at the helm.

When asked about his success already with Spurs, he admitted that the team had made progress sooner than he expected, and praised his players and staff for working hard to improve:

“If I'm being honest, probably did I expect so much progress in the short term? No, because as a new coach, you know you can build so much, but you probably don't expect as much in terms of success. There's going to be bumps but, as I said before, the players are working extremely hard, the staff are working extremely hard - and then you reap the rewards for that. I think if you're looking at performances and the way they perform, they probably proved me wrong in some moments.”

In regard to the WSL, it is clear that Ho is driven by his ambition and aspires for Spurs to push towards a qualification spot for the UEFA Women’s Champions League next season:

“I'm not surprised by their work ethic, their commitment to doing things, their application and attitude. That's definitely not ever been questioned. We're one point behind Manchester United in the league, two points behind Arsenal in third, and I think that position we're in now, I think we deserve to be there based on performances. But it doesn't really matter where you are now, it matters where you are at the end of the season.”

Back-to-back fixtures with United

There were clear emotions within the Spurs squad following a 3-3 draw against the Red Devils last weekend. Having conceded three goals to lose their advantage was challenging for Ho’s Lilywhite side, and Ho understood these frustrations:

“There were raw emotions of joy, happiness and pride because we performed so well. Going into the game, arriving at the stadium on matchday, I felt we had an edge and there was a really good feeling around the group. We went in with a quiet confidence - respecting Manchester United, as we do every opponent - but believing we could be competitive and that we weren’t there just to take part. After the game, there was disappointment. The players were frustrated not to come away with the win, but that in itself shows how far we’ve come.”

However, he also praised the positive improvement and ambitious mentality in comparison to his earlier days with the team:

“Compared to the mentality when I first arrived, that’s a big shift - knowing we want more and knowing we can deliver more. Not many teams go to Leigh Sports Village and score three goals, go in front and put them on the back foot, and I felt we performed really well. I haven’t had to do much - the motivation is already there within the group. When there’s a cup semi-final and silverware in front of you, that gives you an extra edge and motivation going into Sunday.”

Squad reflections

With a nomination for December’s WSL Player of the Month, Olivia Holdt is impressing significantly under Ho. The head coach was full of praise for the Danish midfielder and spoke highly of her skillset and technical ability:

“Olivia has taken big steps this season and really turned a corner in her performances, both defensively and offensively. She’s very intelligent, thrives on pressure, wants the ball and wants to make the difference. Her technical ability is second to none. She’s running harder than she ever has, getting into more duels than ever before, and her overall game has had a massive impact on the team. She’s nowhere near the finished article, but I have a lot of belief in her if she continues to apply herself.”

After the winter break, Signe Gaupset will join Tottenham Hotspur. Both Holdt and Gaupset are young players with promising careers in the sport, which excites Ho as he prepares to welcome the Norwegian international to his squad:

“They’re two wonderful players. Signe has great intuition and creativity, is powerful in 1v1s, and very dangerous around the box. I think they’ll enjoy playing together because of how they see the game, and hopefully they can build something special both individually and collectively.”

On academy players being involved in the matchday squads in recent weeks, Ho reinforced the importance of young players gaining valuable experience with the senior team:

“For any of the younger players - whether that’s Erin [Radbourne], Sophie [Jackson], Jhanaie [Pierre] or others around the group - gaining valuable experience is important, not just on matchday but throughout the training environment as well. We have a lot of young players with us on a daily basis that people don’t always see.”

As a head coach, Ho believes in the importance developing young players and reminded that academy players, such as Lenna Gunning-Williams and Araya Dennis made their way into the first team through the youth development system at Spurs:

“I’m really big on youth development, giving young players opportunities and helping them mature within our senior environment so they understand what it takes to be a professional footballer. We’ve seen that with players like Araya [Dennis], Lenna [Gunning-Williams] and others - I’m not afraid to give them an opportunity when they earn it. When they’re part of the squad, on the pitch, or involved in training, that exposure is vital, and it’s something we’ll continue to do moving forward.”