Presser Points | Man City vs Spurs, 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 trip to Manchester City at Joie Stadium on Saturday (12noon UK).

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

On reflections from the defeat to Everton…

“I felt we didn't get going. There's no excuses from us. We weren’t good enough with our pressure, which we usually are good with. With the ball, we were okay, we had some moments in the first half, flashes of moments, we conceded too many transitions, far too many and, then in the second half, we changed structure, we had more of a foothold in the game for a good 20-25 minute period, we capitalised and got the goal. But then, again, we allowed another transition and we got punished for it. But, being honest, we didn't deserve anything from the game.”

On looking for a response against Man City…

“We should get a response because it's uncharacteristic of ourselves to be the way we were. But you can have those games in football, that's part and parcel of it, we can have an off day, but we can't have too many of them. I don't think we've had too many of them, if I'm honest. You must embrace it; you have to look at it and evaluate what we've done. I evaluate it as a coach on how we approach the game, how we set up and what we've done - and that lies with me. We need to make sure we go into this game with confidence and belief to put that result right.”

On why City have been the ‘cut above the rest’ and currently leading the standings in the WSL…

“Just the flexibility and freedom Andres [Jeglertz] gives them. They're so much more dynamic tactically, they're so much more versatile, and then you have some really good cutting edge. If you look at their goal scorers, I think they've had eight or nine, ten different goal scorers in the season, so their goals are coming from an array of areas on the pitch. They have a very dangerous front line and midfield backing that up, and then their depth within the squad supports that. I think more their tactical flexibility and their freedom in their play is something that you can see.”

On whether City’s draw to Aston Villa last weekend is a setback…

“I'm not going to look at that game in isolation. I don’t think they've had a setback; it's more of a blip in performance. You can have that, as I said, we had one on the weekend, every team is entitled, we're human, the players are human, and we need to make sure that we perform to a high level. Any team would miss Yui Hasegawa would miss her quality and an array of talent she has. The same with [Aoba] Fujino, as a winger, probably one of the most direct and creative forwards within the league. So, you'll miss key players within your squad and, if you had those two, you would definitely miss them. But they have a wonderful squad depth that they have to put in those positions, and I think they maybe had a little bit of an off day against Aston Villa, but that doesn't make us prepare for anything less. We prepare for Man City at their best, when they're scoring, when they're fluid, when they're very offensive and when they're organised offensively in hard-to-beat.”

On how the team has reacted to last week’s defeat and what they have worked on in training this week…

“A response in terms of the output, especially off the ball. We have to be harder to beat, whether we step on and press, or we don't. We have to be more organised to not allow really simple balls going through us or really easy passes going over us or through us. So, being more organised and more disciplined with our defending, being more aggressive when we get up close in the duels, and that was probably the part when we got up close, we weren’t physical enough and didn't really stay in a fight. So, more just the small, basic principles that we're asking of the group when you're defending. Then with the ball, just being more fluid, a little bit brighter and a little bit higher with execution technically. Then, tactically, being more flexible to adapting and interchange within the game. We've just focused on ourselves again this week and changing the behaviours from last week to what we want.”

On whether he will try to watch the Women’s Asian Cup final ahead of the game on Saturday…

“We'll try. I think for Clare [Hunt] and Toko [Koga] and Maika [Hamano], it's been brilliant. They've gone away and they've performed, they've played the games, they've contributed to the team's success, and now both of those teams in the final. It'll be a good contest, and I wish them both the best of luck, both teams, all three players, the best of luck in that final. As in football, there's usually a winner and there's usually one who doesn't come away with anything. But, when that's the case, we'll just make sure that we support those players in the right way when they come back. They should be hugely proud of what they've achieved in a short space of time for the country.”

On keeping the squad motivated heading into the final games of the campaign as we currently sit fifth in the standings…

“That's your job as a professional, as a player. If you're not motivated to compete when you come up in a game, whether you have something at stake or you don't, or you can move on the table or you can't, or you're in a competition or you're not, your job as a professional is to stay focused and have a strong mentality towards not just winning something but performing, developing, growing, and then trying to push for something. I think if we have that within the group, which I wouldn't allow and I don't think the players would allow, we will have no lapses in concentration on that. We represent a wonderful club and a big fan base which is rich in history, and we need to make sure that we don't allow our moments like that to come in, and that won’t come from my side.”