Presser Points | Spurs vs Chelsea, Women's Super League | Martin Ho

Martin Ho spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday morning, ahead of our Barclays Women’s Super League clash with Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (2.25pm UK).

Here are some key points on what he had to say…

Martin on playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and, secondly, facing Chelsea there…

“I think as a collective, as a group, these are the games you want to be a part of. Playing at the stadium is a massive thing for us as a team, as a club, to make sure that we can give the fans something that they can cheer about in a London derby. My first game there, so I'm really excited for it at the same time as a Head Coach. We're really excited and we know that we have to make sure we perform in our optimum if we want to win the game. We've got to be at our best and the players have trained really well all weekend. We'll have a couple more sessions to go for the rest of the week and then we'll see where we sit when we come to Sunday.”

Martin on Chelsea’s recent run of form and where he sees opportunities to threaten them...

“They're a wonderful team. If anyone thinks that losing two games turns them into a bad team, then you're very, very, very mistaken. They're a wonderful team, they have wonderful players, they have a wonderful manager. When a team has played Arsenal and Manchester City, two top teams, in those games, it's kind of nip and tuck, who takes the chances at that level. Unfortunately, Chelsea have been on the back end of that. You expect the response; you know they're going to be dangerous and we know what the threats are going to be like. [They have] very dynamic players in the front line, very good players in central areas, and they've got some of the most decorated central midfielders in world football, so we need to be aware. We will be, but we have to show no fear in that. We have to apply ourselves correctly and focus on ourselves and what we want to do.”

Martin on his squad’s ability to bounce back from defeat or falling behind in games…

“We have a wonderful group of players, who are willing to apply and adapt in certain moments. We've done so much work as a team to try and change the mentality when you go behind, and have a never-die attitude, if you like to say. If you go down in a game, there's always a chance to respond. Most importantly for me, it is the attitude and behaviour to respond. If you have that and you're willing not to give up, you probably have a chance in games. I think we've seen that on the weekend against West Ham. We had a poor performance against Liverpool, then we responded against West Ham. Maybe when you go 1-0 behind, the players think previously, you know what, we're kind of done here. But, the response straightaway was very good, we were creating more opportunities. Then, in the second half, we raised the level again and there were two wonderful strikes from Matilda [Vinberg] and Olivia [Holdt].”

Martin on his confidence in the squad to challenge for the Champions League spots…

“[I’m] not thinking too far ahead. We still have eight games and FA Cup games to play. We can't dive there from what we've done, if we come off the track we've been on and we start focussing on things we can't control, then you probably come in a situation where you become unstuck. We need to focus on this next game ahead. Every game we play is a big game for us, we want to make sure we can perform at a high level and build some consistency. Wherever that takes us in the last two or three games, we will know. What you control is your performances and your results and, if we do that, we give ourselves a chance. But, after the window, really pleased. We've done business early, as you said, and those players enabled us now, along with the players who are still here now, to make sure we have a really good, strong second half of the season.”

Martin on competing in a London derby...

“I think when you play a London derby, there's maybe your form and those sorts of aspects out the window because it's more bragging rights in a battle. But, we just need to focus on what we've been doing. If you look against the top teams in a quarter, we've had some good performance and we've built on those performances. Maybe we've been unfortunate with some of the results, the matches against United where we drew before Christmas, but we've actually performed better in those games. It takes time to build a team back to where you want it to be, it takes time to build confidence and momentum in a group, and they've certainly done that. The players now are relishing the opportunity to play against Chelsea at the stadium, that will bring an edge to us, it brings excitement definitely because you're playing in front of your own fans at the stadium and we just want to make sure that the performance backs up in terms of what we've been doing.”

On our last meeting with Chelsea in the league…

“Everyone's opinion is different. I think, in that game, we had to surrender the ball a lot and we had to do a lot without the ball, but I thought they had lots of opportunity, lots of crosses, a lot of final third action and entry, but I thought our performance defensively was very solid. We were under a lot of pressure, alongside that you need some luck and we did have that, and then you have a wonderful strike from a world-class player in Keira [Walsh] to win the game. We've built on those performances since, we've had some really good performances since then until now, and we need to make sure of, accumulation of a lot of things, being better with the ball, braver with the ball, definitely more personality within character when we do have it individually, and then defensively we have to have the same robustness and compactness to our game. We have to be hard to beat, but we have to be front-footed and we have to make sure that Chelsea know that they're going to be in a game.”

On having more opportunities at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…

“I think this club has done everything. They want us to play at the stadium and we'll continue to do that. We will build on the amount of games we play there because the club are behind it - the owners, the leadership - which is nice. Then, to grow a fan base you have to deliver performances, in my opinion, you have to be performing consistently, you have to make sure the fans are excited to come and watch you, you have to give them an entertaining game where they can come and watch, and that's down to us and down to me to make sure I motivate the team and energise the team to put in their performances and, if we do that, we've seen throughout the season now, the fan base has grown at home and away. We have to make sure we make them want to come back and watch us at the stadium when we're playing and we want to have bigger attendances, by doing good performances you probably get that.”

Martin on whether we can exploit the weakness in Chelsea’s squad…

“There are areas we feel we can exploit as a team, from the way we play, with our style of play, how we step up and how we prepare ourselves. I never like to say there's weaknesses in our opponents because you probably downgrade their actual level and I think our style implements on their style. I feel there are areas we can get into in certain moments that will cause them problems, we've been working on those aspects through the week now and, I feel if we get into the right areas with the right quality on them, we can cause them problems.”

Martin on his first game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend…

“[I’m] really excited because it's my first game as a Head Coach at the stadium and, I've said it before, I feel it's the best stadium in world football. It's authentic, it's iconic and, when you're stood there, you feel that inside. So, I know it's a big opportunity for us, is it a big game? Every game is big. Is it bigger because it's a London derby? Yes and, as you're saying, because we play in the stadium, then maybe, yes, for other people. You have to remove all the emotion attached to the game and just focus on the performance, which is easy for me to say because I'm not one of those players that steps out onto the pitch and plays. But, I'll do my best to remove that pressure as much as possible and just give them really key focus points on what they've delivered so far and what we've done so far and, then if we can really put a performance in where it's just focused on us, we give ourselves a good chance.”

On the impact the supporters can make this weekend…

“You want to make sure that there’s a lot of noise, that it's hostile, and we've done that at home and I've tried to make that a really key message every time we play at home. I want them to they know that they're in for a game, they know it's not going to be easy and they're going to have to work for any result they get and, if we can do that again, the fans will play a huge part. They'll lift the players in moments when we need it, they'll be able to stick behind the group when we're in moments of adversity and, if we perform and we show what we're capable of, we've got to be able to excite the fans at the same time.”

On Araya Dennis signing her new deal…

“[It’s] brilliant for Araya, brilliant for the club, and shows real intention for us to develop younger players, English talent. Araya’s been here now for a good few years and I see a lot of talent in her, a lot of potential, she has a lot of work to do still, she's still very young, but I believe she can be one of the most solid players in this club moving forward if we get her in the right place. I think her ability physically and technically is very good, we just need to refine her game, and she needs a little bit more care in coaching - I think she's getting that now. You then need to give her the environment to be able to blossom into that play and I think we are doing that here. I'm delighted she's going to stay here because I feel she's got a lot of potential.”