Martin Ho previews London derby with emphasis on Spurs’ ambitious mentality

Tottenham Hotspur look to cause upset against eight-time Barclays Women’s Super League champions, Chelsea. Travelling to the home of Chelsea Women, Kingsmeadow, Spurs believe they can take something from the match.

Head coach, Martin Ho addressed the media ahead of this highly anticipated London Derby.

Squad news

Regarding team news, Tottenham Hotspur stand in good stead with most players fit and ready to face Chelsea. Only Ella Morris and Luana Bühler remain sidelined with long-term injuries.

However, a huge boost comes from the hopeful return of Vice Captain, Molly Bartip to the matchday squad. Her leadership and defensive solidity are key to Tottenham’s ambition and play from the back.

On this note, Ho was full of praise for Bethany England, Spurs’ Captain. He pointed out the range of experience and leadership she brings to the table, alongside other influential players in the squad:

“It's really important. She has a track record in these big games and she leads by example, she conducts herself professionally when she goes onto the pitch. But she also shows a willingness and desire and a passion to represent this club, and that's alongside the other players. We have a lot of different experiences within the group. I think her leadership will play a part as well as a number of experiences from the group.”

Previewing the opposition

On this weekend’s opponents, Martin acknowledged the challenge his team will face against Chelsea. With an unbeaten streak under Sonia Bompastor in the WSL, it is not easy to break down the Blues:

“I think we know the quality they possess. They’re champions in terms of the squad they have, what they've done in Europe and also domestically in the league. They're renowned for winning so, yeah, we know it's going to be a tough game.

However, Ho remains ambitious and believes his squad are capable of turning the tables in the London derby. Playing with confidence and in their best form is vital for his side to come away successful:

“More importantly, we have to focus on ourselves and impose in a better way to than we have when we've played against the top clubs. We have to go into the game with confidence and belief that we belong to be there. Away from that, we have to make sure that we show the best version of ourselves.”

Positive form

Martin spoke on Spurs’ recent away form, which plays a huge role in what the team can achieve in the WSL this season. He highlighted that the team needs to always be in contention to win whether playing home or away:

“It's crucial. For any kind of competitive game, you want to make sure that whether it's home or away, you're always in contention to win the game. But I think your away form plays a part in where you’ll finish.”

Regarding tougher away fixtures, such as the London derby against the Champions, the head coach is under no illusions as to what his side must do to find success: tactically, physically, and mentally:

“We have to make sure that when we go away, we might have to sometimes surrender the ball a little bit more than we think, but we can still impose ourselves with the ball and I think that'll be the difference when we go away especially games like this against Chelsea and so on. We have to make sure that we impose ourselves like we did against Everton, like we did against Leicester, where we're going to have to defend resiliently but I believe we can do that. Then when we have the ball, we have to be ruthless with the opportunities we get.”

The Tottenham mindset

It is vital that Spurs keep their feet on the ground. Ho spoke about the need to continually improve the team performance and praised his squad for their patience and remaining grounded amidst some positive results:

“I won't say people are getting carried away because I always remind them, as you'll probably know me as a coach, I try to remind them there’s still a lot of work to do. We're only five games in, we're very premature in this new era, and we want to make sure that we can continue to be effective. We want to make sure that we can better performances because we know that, we haven't had many full completed performances from back to front, so we know that's something we need to work on. So I have no doubt, the players feet are very well grounded, and we always look for ways we can be better.”

Tottenham Hotspur need to display desire and passion in these big games, as well as to be competitive, despite luck sometimes being the decisive factor:

“It's 11-v-11 and we have to make sure that what gets you through these games is a desire and a passion but also a willingness to want to be competitive. I have no doubt that no player goes on the pitch not to be competitive, sometimes you need a little bit of luck that goes with that at the same time to get you over the line. What you also need is those moments to drop to you, with the ball, to make sure that you can capitalise when you're on top and that's something we need to look at.”

In particular, heading into fixtures against the top teams in the WSL, the head coach was clear in his mindset and ambitions, alongside mentioning the importance of mental strength and resilience:

“I don't think there's anything on our back to take a psychological effect on us, or being negative, it's more how we go into these games with a confidence and belief. We go into this game with twelve out of a possible fifteen (league points) - that should be enough confidence for the players to go into the game in the right mindset.”