Ashleigh Neville: “We’ve come a long way”

Ashleigh Neville will make her 50th appearance in the Women’s Super League if she plays in Tottenham Hotspur Women’s game against Manchester City at Brisbane Road on Saturday (11:30am KO).

Since signing for the Club over five years ago, Ash has seen a lot of change in women’s football and at Spurs.

“I think I’d like to have a few more appearances, but we had a few games that we weren’t able to play due to Covid, but it’s a massive thing for me to be at this level and have that many appearances," she said.

“We’ve grown really big as a club. We’ve come a long way since I first started five years ago, but since three years ago when we got promoted to the WSL, the women’s game is just growing on and off the pitch. 

“The quality and the pace of the game and, off the pitch, fans wanting to come and watch. We had a few fans there last week and I’m hoping that’s only going to grow. It was really good for our first game and we’re hoping to get more on Saturday. Moving forward, we have the high hopes that we can get that stadium full. 

“We’ve definitely come a long way from when I signed six years ago when we were down at Cheshunt, playing in front of 50, 60 fans, maybe a little bit more, to now playing in the top stadiums. The women’s game is on the up at the moment so it’s only going to get better.”

The quality of players has also improved vastly, and last weekend’s win against Liverpool showed that new signings Celin Bizet and Drew Spence are among those to be settling in well after joining in the summer.

“Yeah, they’re great players,” Ash said. “Experienced, international players is what we need to drive this club forward as well as the coaching staff. This is the best coaching staff I’ve ever worked with and it only makes me better as a player and I’m sure the girls can echo that. As a team, if we can all come together collectively, it’s going to show on the pitch.

“It was a good team performance in the first half last week. I think we could’ve taken that into the second half and we kind of sat off a little bit and allowed Liverpool to grow into the game, but we dug it out in the end and showed that we can fight until the end and that’s another strength of ours. We got there in the end and got the well-deserved win.

“I think it’s going to be a little bit different on Saturday. I think they’re going to come at us and we’ve got to be prepared for that, be patient and hold our shape, but we’re excited and treat every game the same. It’s another one at home.”

Saturday’s game is dedicated to Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, and Ash told us about the importance that holds to her.

“As a Club here, we’re massive on making sure that everyone feels included and that they can come here and be themselves, whether that’s players, staff, or fans at the games,” she said.

“We’ve got the Proud Lilywhites, who are massive for our Club, and make sure that everyone who comes in the fanbase feels like they’re part of the team like they should do. They do great work there and we need to thank them for that. We’ll go there on Saturday and do what we can to help as much as possible.”

Tickets are available to buy for Saturday's game here. They will also be available to purchase from the Ticket Office at Brisbane Road on Saturday.