Last week, The Halfway Line had the chance to speak to Bethany England at Hotspur Way about what has been a campaign of revival for Tottenham Hotspur.

The club faced a notable managerial chance in summer, as Robert Vilahamn made his way over from BK Häcken to put pen to paper in North London. Since the arrival of the Swedish boss, the Spurs have deployed countless displays of excitement, having found victory over top contenders in both Arsenal and Manchester City over recent months combined.

Since joining the side, England played a vital role in saving Tottenham from the drop zone in what was an incredibly precarious 2022/23 campaign in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Reflecting on what has been a brilliant year of growth for Tottenham since last season’s rocky path, England packed on the praise for the entire effort made by the club over recent months.

“Last season, you can call it what it was, but we did enough to survive. This season we’ve recruited, a new manager’s come in and I think there’s a different expectation of Spurs now. We started off really well and then had a bit of a blip at the start of this year, but we’re showing that we’re able to compete against the top teams. I still think there’s a gap, but we’ve definitely narrowed that gap. There is a belief that we can achieve a lot more this year.

I think Tottenham as a whole has gone through a change. You can see it with the men’s down to the women’s and I think that ethos is resonated throughout, and I think having that style of play has definitely helped this group of players in the way in which we approach games now.  We can change and adapt in games now to suit different teams, whereas before, we didn’t really have a structure or a plan. That’s the biggest thing going forward.”

England herself faced a rocky commencement to proceedings as the 2023/24 campaign geared up, having undergone hip surgery in the weeks leading up to the season’s start. 

Reflecting on her road to recovery, England expressed “The club were fantastic in all the help they gave me to get me back on the pitch.”

The Spurs captain continued, “It’s never easy coming back from an injury, especially when it’s quite a big surgery as well. I’ve just got my head down and got on with my job. I think we’ve got an amazing group. They’re great girls to work with. They’ve tried to get me up to speed as quickly as possible. Confidence wise, you gain confidence through playing games, so I think that will come. But, as a whole I’m happy with the way the team is performing, and we can continue to push on from here.”

Last Sunday proved historic for Tottenham Hotspur, as Robert Vilahamn’s side found an emphatic victory over an unforgiving Manchester City outfit in the quarter final stages of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. The victory at Brisbane Road Stadium saw the Spurs book themselves a spot in the semi final stages of the cup competition, for the first time in club history. 

England reflected on the achievement with the upmost amount of pride, whilst also remaining level headed in regard to the challenge that is ahead for Tottenham.

“It’s an amazing moment in the history of the club. We need to make sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves. We’ve not won anything yet. Everyone thinks it’s amazing we’ve drawn Leicester, but they’re going to be just as hungry for it as we are. We need to make sure we stay grounded and don’t get too complacent. Everyone’s got it all to play for in this round, but – if we can get through that hurdle – then we can focus on the final. We’ve got a couple of players in this team with enough experience in those moments.”

Tottenham have gathered 19 points from their league opponents throughout this season in the Barclays Women’s Super League, one point more than what was gathered throughout their entire campaign in last year’s struggling trot. Vilahamn’s style of play brings excitement to Hotspur Way, as Spurs fans begin to find themselves believing in magic again. 

Drawing one final word from England, the captain expressed “Rome wasn’t built in a day. We have to appreciate that Tottenham as a women’s club was a little bit behind getting into the WSL. They’ve made progress steps forward. Obviously we’ve touched on that last season wasn’t the best but we did enough to stay afloat. We’ve definitely implemented enough things this season to be in the top half of the table, competing more in the trophies and pushing ourselves further up in the league. The quality we’re bringing in is growing every season. As long as we continue to push higher, who knows what’s going to happen.”

Tottenham Hotspur are back in league action this Sunday, as the Spurs gear up to host Leicester City at Brisbane Road Stadium in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Proceedings are set to head underway at 14:00 GMT, and fans can tune in on The FA Player.