Tottenham Hotspur must manage “added pressure” as Ho previews trip to St Helens

Tottenham Hotspur Women travel to St Helens on Sunday January 25, as they prepare to face relegation-fighting, Liverpool FC Women.  

The Lilywhites continue to push for top three in the Barclays Women’s Super League, hoping to earn three points away against a resilient Liverpool side.

Head coach, Martin Ho spoke to the media ahead of this weekend’s match and reinforces his strong ambitions with the club.

Team news

Cathinka Tandberg could return this weekend, after it was revealed, she was back in contention via training footage at Hotspur Way. Ho spoke about the Norwegian’s unique profile making a big impact for his side and how her return will feel like a new player in the group after a busy transfer window:

“I think she gives you a different profile in that front line. Aggressive, good back-to-goal, a goal scorer, which we have in her and Beth. It gives you an energy and a personality up the pitch that obviously has made a big impact for us when she first came in. It'll feel like, maybe for her and maybe a little bit of the group, that it's like a new player coming back into the group after having a spell on the side-lines.”

Regarding the new additions this January, Ho confirmed that they have settled in after making their debuts. He explained the valuable skillsets of his new signings and how they earned their debuts, exclaiming his excitement for their positive impact and how it will help the team become more unpredictable and harder to beat:

“They've made their debuts and they've deserved those debuts; they haven't just been given. I've made that very clear, that those positions where those players, those playing, those forward, those wider forward positions or those full-back positions, it's where a lot of our pressing intent comes from and you need to make sure that they're refreshed.

Matilda [Nildén], Hanna [Wijk], Julie [Blakstad] made their debuts and then Maika [Hamano] made her first start, but they've been impactful on the group and how we play, how we can evolve, how we become more unpredictable with how we want to approach games tactically. So, yeah, I'm very happy for them, I'm delighted for them and maybe it takes a little bit of that pressure off the shoulders making their debut.”

Competition in the WSL

On the opportunity to capitalise on the top teams playing each other in recent weeks: Martin reminded the media of the danger of getting caught up in other teams’ results, and how it is important that his team focuses on being consistent and performing well themselves.

“Every game we come into, we want to win. We need to make sure we're consistent with the level of performance we've shown. If other teams play each other and it goes in your favour, you take that.

But first and foremost, we focus on our own performance. As soon as you start looking elsewhere, you come off the rails a little bit. We've made sure this group is focused on Liverpool, and if we perform and get the result we want, everything else becomes a bonus.”

On Spurs not being a surprise package in the WSL anymore, Ho spoke about the team’s positive transformation after a disappointing season last year, crediting the staff and players’ hard work, as well as the pressure and high expectations that comes with the good performances:

“I think maybe if we're looking in terms of where we were, which is a fact, where we finished last year, you can't change that. I don't understand why there's some kind of apprehension around the team, the performance and so on. We've now moved in a totally different direction, and we've hopefully brought a new energy and a kind of passion and desire for this team, on and off the pitch, and now I hope that we've spoken about it in that breadth.

Ho reminds that Spurs are in a new and better place now, where talks of relegation should not even be considered while he takes charge:

“We shouldn't be a team that's spoken about in relegation, and I'll make sure that we're not while I'm here. We need to be competing on all fronts for competitions and for honours, and moving forward now we have to, as I always say, build on performance and find the consistency, but we have to also take that added pressure that comes with wearing a Spurs shirt, and the players definitely know that.”

Spurs’ growing fanbase

The importance of the fans’ support at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the team’s game against Chelsea in a few weeks will be key. Ho expressed his desire to have a large and passionate crowd at all the team’s home games and encouraged the fans to bring all the noise and passion to support the ladies in the huge clash against their London rivals:

“You want as many fans as possible, whether that’s Brisbane Road or the Stadium, we want to make it hostile and entertaining. Entertainment keeps people coming back. The fans have supported us really well, and we want to build that fan base further. By entertainment, you obviously keep people coming back to watch you.

This first part of the season, I want to make sure we can build that fan base even further. What an opportunity to do that at the stadium against Chelsea, where it's a game against a London rival, it's a big one for the city in general. I want to make sure that the players get a really loud and energetic fan base behind them to help them pull through the game.”

Managing high expectations

With the second half of the season upon us, Ho emphasised his high expectations for his Lilywhite side, while leaving the past behind:

“As a club and as Tottenham Hotspur, we should be wanting to win and we should have a target on our back, we should be spoken about in the right way about what we should expect from a Tottenham team. I want to make sure that we are speaking about that. I think maybe for previous [seasons] we've been spoken about slightly differently, but I don't want to always look at the past, it's in the past for a reason.”

In particular, he highlighted the importance of staying in good form, and pushing to achieve his desire to compete for European football and for honours:

“We need to focus on what we're doing now. We're in a good spell, we need to make sure we stay in that, we embrace the added pressure, we embrace that we're being spoken about in that way, that teams want to come and beat us, and we should embrace those moments when we go into these games to hopefully come out on top with good performance. Moving forward, we have to make sure, because if you want to go and compete for honours, you want to be in European football, you have to take this added pressure that comes with it.”