Tottenham Hotspur head coach Rehanne Skinner says that her side will come up against a Birmingham City outfit with a point to prove at St Andrew’s this afternoon.
The Blues are currently five points adrift at the bottom of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table following a 2-1 home defeat in difficult circumstances to Leicester City last weekend. Goalkeeper Emily Ramsey was wrongly sent-off in that game contributing to Birmingham City’s loss.
With Birmingham City now having to fight for their lives more than ever before, Spurs boss Skinner expects them to have a point to prove when the two sides meet at St Andrew’s this afternoon.
“They’ve got to go into every game like it’s a cup final,” Skinner said. “They probably have a point to prove after last weekend.
“It’ll be a really tough test, it’ll be a battle and ultimately, we need to do the things that’ll make it hard for them to play in the style that has been successful for them when they have had those opportunities which have come from certain aspects of the game. We have to make sure that we manage that aspect of the game really well and we’ll have to make sure that we are good at it.”
Spurs have been carrying a ‘1-0 specialists’ tag for most of this season but the North Londoners made a mockery of that suggestion last weekend as they defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at The Hive. Skinner went on to say that her side have always believed in goalscoring but last weekend’s big win has added to the confidence of her side.
She said “I think we have always had that belief and that’s why we have scored goals late on in games. There has always been that belief that we are going to create chances and goals are going to come. Whether it’s one or whether it’s four, there has always been that belief in the team.
“I think it adds confidence when there are different goalscorers and we score in different ways. Players have clearly played key parts in evolving those goals at the weekend. It kind of stems the flow of confidence into the rest of the team just generally in terms of our attacking play.
“Hopefully, we are able to continue that going into this weekend and then obviously, try to sustain that going forward.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Birmingham City is scheduled to kick-off at 2pm this afternoon.