Ho reflects on first half of the season: 'I’ve been very pleased, but I always want more'

‘Confidence’, ‘Consistency’ and ‘foundations’… those are some of the key words that Head Coach Martin Ho used to reflect on the first half of the 2025/26 campaign and the game that made him believe the project was heading in the right direction. 

Sitting fifth in the Barclays Women’s Super League table and having already matched last season’s point tally, our Head Coach has certainly made a massive impact in his first role at the helm in England’s top flight after joining the Club in the summer.

There have been many aspects of the performances that have caught the eye so far, including strong defensive displays that has seen us accumulate four clean sheets in total – the second highest in the league.

Now, with a few weeks to recharge over the winter break, Martin reflected on his first six months in north London and spoke about the key elements to the positive start to life for the campaign but is determined to keep building as we head into the new year.

“It took a little bit of time to settle in, personally and professionally, and to put everything in place, but I think we hit the ground running in the first few games. We built some confidence and momentum - and we’ve been able to connect with the fans and the club through forums and performances. It’s been a really good start and hopefully there’s more of that to come in the new year.

“When the players first came in, we needed to lift their confidence (where it was) from previously - and they definitely did that. I saw a team that wanted to work hard, players with good attitude and behaviour, and staff with a strong work ethic as well. I knew there were really good foundations to build from. It was about putting the right pieces of the puzzle together to allow everything to take off.

“We’ve found the right balance in many moments, but there’s still so much work to do if we want to be a top team - effective and efficient over the long term. There’s a lot of talent here among staff and players. They just needed processes and a framework to perform. By doing that, we’ve reaped the rewards in some of our performances. Overall, I’ve been very pleased - though as a coach, I always want more.”

There have been some standout performances, from the north London derby against Arsenal, to pushing United right to the very end away from home, alongside some convincing performances at home and on the road – so we asked Martin to pick out the moment he thought ‘we’re getting there.’

“[It was] Probably after the first game against West Ham at the start of the season. There were nerves, a bit of edge - the players hadn’t played a competitive game for a while. There were moments where we had to ride the storm, and it took something special to win the game. But that helped the players relax. Going into the second game against Everton, there was less pressure, calmer, more confidence, and high motivation. That allowed us to put in another strong performance - and from then on, I really felt it building.

“We’ve taken steps forward, with bumps along the way - that’s natural for any team. We’ve grown mentally, which is the biggest thing. We’ve used disappointing moments as learning experiences and now going into the break I feel we’ve shown our behaviours more consistently. The focus now is building performances and becoming more competitive in the games we want to be.”