Tottenham head coach Martin Ho believes his side are well placed to push on in the second half of the WSL season.
Spurs host Leicester City this weekend in the Women’s Super League (WSL), as they look to continue the fine form they showed in the first half of the season. Currently sitting two points behind rivals Arsenal in third, a win could mean Spurs move up into the Champions League positions. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Martin Ho confirmed that Tottenham will remain active in the transfer market but stressed any other additions would be made carefully.
“As a club, you want to make sure that you do everything you can to make sure your squads in the best possible shape, going into, as they’ll probably say, the, the kind of big end of the season”, Ho explained. “So, yeah, we’ll still be in the market if we feel we can strengthen any areas, but, yeah, I’m very selective in what I want and what we need. I want to make sure that’s the right person, the right fit for us moving forward”.
Despite the January window only having been open a short amount of time, Spurs quickly made additions to bolster the squad. Signe Gaupset, Hanna Wijk, Matilda Nildén and Julie Blakstad have all made the move to north London on permanent deals, while Maika Hamano has joined on loan for the remainder of the season.
Ho confirmed that all new signings are in contention to feature against Leicester, adding that he prioritises readiness to preform over a longer adaption period.
“If a player is ready, then it’s an opportunity for them and for us as coaches to put them in”, Ho said.
The head coach also spoke specifically about the impact January arrival Signe has had. Ho expressed how she has already impressed in training and gave a glimpse into the type of person she is both on and off the pitch.
“She’s settled in really well,” the head coach said. “She’s quite shy as a person, which is natural when you come into a new environment,” he explained. “But on the pitch, you can see her quality. She’s more relaxed there, and that’s where she comes into her own.”
Ho praises ‘iconic figure’ Ashleigh Neville following Tottenham departure
Spurs legend Ashleigh Neville departed the club this month after spending nearly a decade at Spurs. Ho was keen to pay tribute to her and the contribution she has made to the team over the years.
“A wonderful person”, praised Ho. “Ashleigh is an iconic figure for this football club. She’s been a huge part of building what the club is today and has been a role model for young players and people in our fan base. The club will make sure she’ll be remembered in the right way.”
The Spurs head coach acknowledge that the squad was evolving, but was keen to emphasise the need for balance and rejected the idea of a wholesale rebuild.
“You think it’s important that you, have that blend of experience and kind of youth, but we want to make sure that that’s done in the right way, and we make sure it’s right for the for the team and for the club”, Ho said. “The club is very ambitious about where it wants the women’s team to go, and I’m excited to be part of that.”
Ho says Tottenham expect a difficult test against Leicester
Despite Leicester’s ninth-place league position, Ho expects a difficult test from the Foxes, as he praised their organisation and intensity.
“A tough one [game]”, Ho said. “I think since Rick’s [Rick Passmoor] gone in there, he done an outstanding job and they’re well organised. They’re very aggressive in terms of defensively. They step on, they press high. And then with the ball, they’re very fluid. They’re very dynamic”.
With Spurs sitting just two points off the Champion’s League places, Ho remained cautious when asked about his ambitions this season and believes that although the foundations are in place, the work is far from finished.
“We want to make sure that we, we’re competitive in all competitions and we’ll do that moving forward,” Ho said. “What I don’t like to do is say we’re going to get there or we’re going to win this or we’re going to do that because then it’s you definitely open up something for yourself.
“So, going into the second part of season we’re optimistic. We need to make sure that we build on what we’ve done in the first part of the season and not kind of settle on it. and make sure that we put ourselves in a good position, going into this end part of the season”.
Ho confirmed that Cathinka Tandberg, Olga Ahtinen and Charli Grant, who were unavailable before the festive break, are still unavailable for selection, but are making good progress in their recovery. “
They’re [Tinka and Olga] probably looking to return at the end of January to be in the squad,” Ho explained.
“They’ve made good progress, ahead of schedule but, with certain injuries, you have to take a bit more caution and we had that opportunity over the Christmas break. They’re both on the pitch, been in parts of training but we’re just building them back up to where they need to be. The end of this month is they targeted return date and, fingers cross, there’s no setbacks.
“Charli, meanwhile, has been progressing really well in her rehab as well. She’s making really good strides and progress. We’ll hopefully see Charli come the end of the month, early February.”
The head coach also provided updates on long term absentees Jess Naz, Ella Morris, Luana Buhler and Maite Oroz.
“Ella is back on the grass and doing parts of training. Luana is still doing rehab, Maite is making good progress, and Jess just had her operation and in a good place.”
Tottenham vs Leicester kicks off at 12:00pm GMT, Sunday 11th January, with it being shown live on Sky Sports+.
