After the October international break, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool Women return to league action on Sunday as they face each other at Brisbane Road.
Spurs head into matchweek seven sitting fourth in the table and will be eager to maintain their strong start to the season, having collected 12 points from a possible 18. Their opponents, meanwhile, have endured a difficult run of form. Liverpool currently sit second from bottom, still searching for their first points after five matches.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash, Spurs head coach Martin Ho shares his thoughts on the upcoming fixture.
How has the squad come back from international break – are there any new injury concerns or fitness issues to manage?
“Eveliina [Summanen] came back with a little bit of a fractured rib. She’s obviously been managed over this short period. She’s been a part of training. We’ll train today, and we’ll assess her after and then see if she’s available for the game tomorrow.”
Your opponents this weekend have had a really tough start to the season, but last time out against Manchester City they looked organised and made themselves difficult to break down. They really seemed to frustrate City at times – how are you planning to approach that challenge?
“Yeah, I think the position on the table and definitely the results don’t show the performances they’ve maybe had. I think they’ve pulled teams really close and in a lot of games, they have a very clear identity and are very forward thinking and front footed in terms of how they want to play.
“That’s obviously Gareth’s implementation on the squad. We know it’s going to be a tough game. We know they’re probably chomping at the bit to want to get a result, and they want to get a win. We need to make sure that we step up, that we perform, and make sure we make it difficult for them.”
Liverpool like to dominate possession and play out from the back. At times that has left them vulnerable on the counterattack – can we expect to see you exploiting that weakness tomorrow?
“Yeah, I think not just that area, but other areas too. I think they have a very clear identity and I know Gareth is very strong on that and I like that. He’s strong enough because he believes in what he does.
“We need to make sure if the opportunity presents itself when they do build out or they’re in higher phases, and we get an opportunity to break in and have chances on goal, we need to make sure we take them. There’s obviously areas we’ll look at, but it’s not just that one area, because I feel we can exploit other areas at the same time.”
A lot of individuals are performing really well at the moment, but there also seems to be a real sense of togetherness within the squad. Can you feel that cohesion within the group, and how much do you think that has contributed to your strong start?
“Yeah, I think togetherness, for me, probably goes above the results and the performance. It goes above individual quality in my opinion because team cohesion is key. If you get that right, I feel it can get you over the line in numerous games. It can also bring an extra level and extra bit of energy into your performances and we’ve definitely showed that throughout the season so far.
“We want to make sure we continue to build on that and work together to make sure the players and the staff are connected. They do a lot of work as a group to make sure they’re connected and we need to make sure that we use that to our advantage. I think it’s a big part of the environment I want to create here and we’re starting to see the fruits of that.”
Earlier this week Matilda Vinberg said that one of your key messages to the players is about being brave and playing with confidence – what does that look like in practice, and how do you try to instil that mindset in the team?
“I think Matilda’s had some setbacks along the way. I saw that interview yesterday and I thought she spoke really well. I want the players to be brave. I want them to make brave decisions whether that’s with or without the ball. We’ve got to be exciting and proactive with how we need to look identity wise.
“I want to make sure that when we have the ball, the players are looking to play forward and they’re looking to go into advanced areas, defeat individual players, and show that 1-v-1 brilliance where they can go past players and make it exciting.
“Off the ball we also need to be brave to step out, defend forward, not defend backwards as much, and be a team that wants to defend on the front foot. We’re starting to see a lot of that and it comes with confidence and belief and the group is showing that in large spells of games now.”
What did you make of your first international break? Was it valuable considering the relatively short pre-season?
“It was good, the break probably came around at the right time to refresh, re-energise, and reflect on the first nine games we’ve had. It was important for me to be able to see what we’ve done, not just on a results perspective, but on our performances overall in terms of technically, tactically and physically.
“I need to make sure that we better the team, and try to find ways in which the players can enhance their performance. I think it came at the right time, and the players going to represent their countries is brilliant.
“It’s another opportunity for me to see them in a different context, in a different environment, but also make sure that they go away healthy and that they come back healthy.”
Liverpool are facing a lot of injuries at the moment which could make them unpredictable in terms of how they line up. How do you prepare for that?
“I think Gareth has shown he’s clear on how he wants to play and his playing style which, as I said, I respect but I know they’ve had some injuries, and we’ve had some ourselves over this first period of games. As a coach it shows how adaptable you are, but it also presents opportunity for someone else to play. Gareth will maybe be in that situation come tomorrow, of picking a team that he feels is going to win the game. We have to be ready for any of those options he puts in place. We need to be prepared and ready that we can stop that.”
Have you been surprised by Gareth Taylor’s start at Liverpool?
“As I said, the league position and maybe the the results don’t always give a true reflection of where you actually are. I think their performances have been strong and I think it was alluded to before that the performance against Manchester City was very solid, and they were in a lead for a period of the game. They might not have had the ball, but they frustrated Manchester City a lot.
“In other games too they’ve had a lot of really successful chances and opportunities throughout, and maybe the ball hasn’t fallen their way. They need something to click and hopefully it doesn’t click on the weekend against us but more importantly we have to make sure that we respect them and we believe in what we’re doing. We’ll focus on ourselves and make sure the performance is backed up by that.”
Featured image courtesy of THFC.