Tottenham Hotspur boss, Robert Vilahamn, addressed the media this afternoon ahead of Tottenham’s Barclays Women’s Super League trip to Bristol City this Sunday.

Speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon, Robert gave the press an update on who to expect to see in the Lilywhite’s travelling squad to Ashton Gate.

“Martha [Thomas] is going to be out this weekend, it’s her first week in rehab and she’s going according to the programme and everything so hopefully it’s only three weeks. She will use the national team break to work and hopefully be back for the [FA] Cup game.”

The Spurs boss also confirmed that, “Molly [Bartrip] is back on the field and has trained well, if everything goes well on Saturday, she will be in the squad on Sunday.

I forgot one thing about Bara! (Votikova), she got a concussion in training this week so she will be out this weekend. We followed the protocol there, she is here training easily today, but she will not be involved on Sunday.”

Remaining with the grain on the topic of injuries, Spurs captain Bethany England is now thirteen games back following her operation in the pre-season, having since only yielded three goals. A double in the 3-2 comeback Adobe Women’s FA Cup victory over Sheffield United. and the equaliser to send the Quarter Final tie with Manchester City to penalties. The Barnsley born has taken up a new role, as she has been seen to come off the bench in three consecutive fixtures as of late.

Much has been made of England’s form since her return, but one thing is for sure, her manager remains firm that she is the perfect captain.

“When you start working with a player who is the team captain and gets an injury, it’s so so strong of her to be that leader even when she’s not playing.

I wanted her back as quick as possible. She took a little shortcut for that Man United game and we needed that because her leadership is amazing. After that, she comes into the second phase where she needs to build her self confidence and everything again and get that decision right.

We didn’t perform well in a few games so we reduced her minutes off the bench, but what you can see is that she is really sharp, she has been shining this week and she’s been very professional. For me to work with that kind of player is so important. She is taking steps every week and hopefully we can keep going.”

Something that is unusual around this stint of the season, is that Tottenham have a prolonged break after the final whistle blows in Bristol on Sunday.

Following the FA Continental Tyres League Cup Final on Easter Sunday, as well as the impending international break, Tottenham’s next action will be the historical Adobe Women’s FA Cup semi-final meeting with Leicester City. Such a break doesn’t happen so often in a season, let alone at what could be described as the ‘business end’, but Vilahamn is determined to derive the positives from the short hiatus.

“We re-did the schedule so all the players get a few days off. We’re going to have the Friday to Sunday over Easter off.” Vilahamn continued, “I think it’s important for the National Team players to get a short break as well, they work so hard for such a long time so mentally and physically it’s a good break for them and the staff too, then we will be back for the FA Cup game, working hard to prepare ourselves.”

The status of their opponents this weekend in Bristol City point all things into the corner of a Spurs win, as the Robins currently sit at rock bottom on just six points. Lauren Smith’s side currently fall six points behind West Ham United, having only won on one occasion, and having lost all seven of their games at Ashton Gate this campaign.

Despite the precarious position that they find themselves in, this could allow Lauren Smith’s side to play with freedom and without fear as we saw in the weekend’s performance against Manchester United. Vilahamn was sure in his stance that his side should be expecting a challenge.

“In most of the games they (Bristol City) play, they compete very well and it’s only a few scenarios in the game that make them lose it. They have good players and good strategies to defend and then when they go for the press they are good at that aswell.

They still have good enough players to win games in this league and they have good enough players who can hurt us aswel. If we go into this game thinking it’s going to be easy, then we are probably going to lose this match, so we need to be professional.”

One player that has caught the eye in her brief cameo’s so far, is Chinese international Shuang Wang who joined Spurs over from NWSL outfit, Racing Louisville, back in December. Having joined mid season, it was always going to be hard for Wang to settle into a completely the new environment, let alone successfully slot straight into a firing football team.

The signs are there, with some very promising cameo’s off the bench, that have left Spurs fans wanting more. Vilahamn reflected on her brief stint so far, packing on the praise for the Chinese international.

“To adapt to this league, you realise it’s not just about playing time, it’s about language, assessing the physicality’s of this league so she needed time. Shuang is probably one of the best technical players in the team we have, in the team I have. I think for her, she needs to adapt that she can work with each other and use her skillsets here with the team. She will be a huge asset for us in the long time.”

Jessica Naz is another player in the Spurs frontline that has earned fantastic plaudits recently, particularly for her performance in last weekends win over Leicester.

There wasn’t a blade of grass on the Brisbane Road that Naz didn’t cover, serving the first half as a more roaming front line player, whilst a more strict right-wing role awaited her in the second half of the 1-0 victory. Bagging the assist for Matilda Vinberg’s goal in Sunday’s win, it was an afternoon to remember for the England U23 international.

“If you look at the player I want to have up front in one of the positions, she nails that. She’s quick, she’s athletic, she can use both feet, she’s good with her first touch, she can press with intent, she can sprint back as well. If you look at everything, she does everything in the right way and she is probably the next Lioness in our team” said Vilahamn.

“She showed in the last game that for ninety minutes, she can be excellent, she is taking steps every week, the potential in her is enormous.”

Finally, as eluded too with the break, Tottenham’s next game is the Adobe Women’s FA Cup semi-final with Leicester City. Vilahamn left one final message for Tottenham fans ahead of the break:

“I think we feel that they are very proud of us. We feel that we have done it together. We are ready to open up the big stage to show these fans and these players that we are playing The Tottenham Way.

We have time to build this game up because I want to have a big game there with a lot of fans supporting us and taking it forward so we can have a lot of people supporting us.

I want to end this year with a really good feeling at that stadium because next year, we want to be there even more and make sure we grow the fanbase and make the fans proud.”

Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Ashton Gate this Sunday, as they face Bristol City in the Barclays Women’s Super League at 14:00 GMT.