Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn wants Sunday’s Women’s Super League meeting with Liverpool to be a turning point for his club.
“Hopefully Liverpool can be the start of three good games before we go on the summer,” Vilahamn said.
Providing an update on team news, the manager confirmed “No new injuries and Charli is back training as well, so it’s only the two suspensions with Drew [Spence] and Eveliina [Summanen] this weekend.”
One long-term absentee from Vilahamn’s squad has been Kit Graham. The attacker’s anterior cruciate ligament injury delivered a real blow to Spurs before the season had even got underway. Vilahamn was asked about Graham’s progress through what we all know to be a gruelling recovery process.
“She’s following a plan, she’s supporting the squad, and she’s now on the grass, running and training on her own, so there’s not enough time before we end the season to have her in collective training and in games, but she’s taking the right steps.
“I think she will be ready and hopefully with the squad once we start up after the summer break, but you never know with these injuries, one month here and one month there, but the good thing is that she’s in good spirits and looking very happy with the steps she’s taking.”
‘I’m going to work really hard for this club’
This campaign has, without a doubt, been a disappointing one for Spurs, who are now winless in eight games. Vilahamn spoke candidly about the pressures faced by WSL managers today.
“There’s obviously a pressure on coaches,” he said, “and if you look at this league and how many coaches has been fired this season, it’s, it’s always a topic. But I think what I feel, and what I hear from from the board and from from everybody around me, is that we are, we are in this journey together until we’re not. And I think everybody showed me the support, and we’re trying to find ways to improve.
“You can say that it’s a failure this year, in a way, where we’re not taking big steps forward, but in one way, we also need to go through some tough times to get to the next level. As well as you need to look at how you can improve. And I’m going to work really hard for this club until they say something else.”
Morris is ‘knocking on the door for England’
Last weekend, Spurs suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa despite a second half comeback. Despite the blow, Ella Morris was one Lilywhite who impressed at Brisbane Road Stadium on the occasion, scoring her first goal for the club.
Vilahamn packed on the praise for the attacking right-back, saying, “The consistency she is showing now and the way she’s taking steps, even if we’re not overperforming in the games, that’s very impressive. That’s one of the highlights this season that we have a player at that level with a long-term contract.”
“With the bravery she has, she’s knocking on the door for England,” the manager affirmed.
Ahead of tomorrow’s fixture, Vilahamn emphasised, “The season is not end yet. We have three more games. We have the chance to win a few games. We have chance to show the fans and meet that we are taking steps.”
