The media heard from West Ham United manager, Rehanne Skinner, on Friday afternoon as the Irons gear up to face their head coach’s former club in Tottenham Hotspur. The final day of the Barclays Women’s Super League 2023/24 season will see the Irons visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, hoping to add three points to what has been a rocky league campaign for the side.

Skinner’s side currently sit eleventh on the league table- nine points clear of relegated Bristol City. The Barclays Women’s Super League draws to a close as the two London clubs will fight until the very end, with the head coach assuring supporters that “the biggest thing is that we want to finish on a high note. “

The Irons boss provided an insight into what has been a difficult stint for her East London side, assessing that despite finishing lower than they had aspired to, progress at West Ham has been made during Skinner’s first season in charge.

“We always knew the project, we knew it was going to be a journey. It was a bit of a new era, really, with the new women’s board, and the way that we wanted to get the women’s team more integrated in the wider club. So much has gone on behind the scenes. Obviously we’re here to talk about the football, but there’s always so many other things that kind of come in alignment with that.

“There’s obviously still some areas that we’ve not been as clinical as we’d like to be, and a lot of lessons learned from that” said Skinner, but “this year has been a real positive step in terms of getting the foundations right.”

The reverse fixture took place in January, when the Irons fell to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Robert Vilahamn’s Spurs. The fiery nature of this match is almost certain to be replicated as Skinner hopes to see out the season with a victory over Tottenham, as she makes her return to North London to come up against the team she managed just last season.

Expressing her desire to take points away from the occasion, Skinner emphasised “It’s a London derby. Let’s make no mistake, it’s going to be a battle.”

Touching on preparations for Saturday’s head-to-head as the Irons make the journey to N17, Skinner maintained that she is confident in her team’s mindset and ability in a large stadium.

“We prepare the same in terms of how we are thinking about the game, what our game plan looks like, how we want to operate as a team and keep building on our style of play. Obviously you have to be mindful that you might have to manage some elements of it in terms of transitional elements of the game because it is a bigger pitch.”

“We want to make sure that we give a positive account of ourselves and that’s the most important thing to us.”

Skinner’s side approach Saturday’s game with some extremely positive news, which comes in the form of Dagný Brynjarsdóttir’s return from injury. Beamingly, the head coach confirmed the midfielder has been through all of the safe return to play elements, saying “she’s in the early stages of that, but she’s in a position to come with the team tomorrow so we’re delighted to have her back.”

Looking toward the summer transfer window, Skinner revealed that recruitment strategy is a priority for the club, communicating that “the biggest thing for us will be that we reinforce our forward line, we’ve got to look at how we make that even more effective.”

“We’ve got to add more leadership into that as well. We’ve obviously had players with high potential in the team, but it takes a little bit of time to move everybody forward. Had we had Kristie [Mewis] and Mini [Katrina Gorry] available to us for longer, I think that would have made a significant difference.”

“When you look at Shelina [Zadorsky] going to the Gold Cup, and she had to miss three games for us as well, because of being on loan, the time frames of those more senior players adding that value, adding immediate impact to the squad in January. You need that for the balance, to help the younger ones, to help manage certain moments in games. The leadership side of it as well as some of the reinforcements in the forward line, I think, would help us to be even more successful.”

Beaming with praise for forward Riko Ueki, Skinner continued “It’s also worth mentioning how well Riko has done in her first year, She’s scored five goals this season already, and in our last three goals she’s been involved in all of them, scoring two. I think she’s going to continue to thrive in this league, and that’s important that we keep getting the support in and around her and Vivi [Asseyi].”

Speaking on the ever-progressing Barclays Women’s Super League, the Irons manager stated “For me it’s the best league in the world, because every week you have to face a completely different challenge. The style of football from team to team is slightly different, and so it’s not like a lot of the other leagues.”

“I think the players in our league, and our managers, and coaching staff, have got to be really smart about how you actually prepare for every game, because whilst you might have your own structure and philosophy, you’ve got to adjust.”

Skinner’s West Ham will face off against their London opposites on Saturday afternoon, with all kicking off at 15:00 GMT. The clash will be available to watch live on the FA Player.