Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn says that he is happy with his side’s progress despite back-to-back draws with Everton and Liverpool.
The Lilywhites won three of their opening four games in this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League but they have been left frustrated in their last two matches as they have settled for 1-1 draws.
When speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s trip to Leicester City, Spurs boss Vilahamn said that he is pleased with where his side are in their development.
“We were in a phase where we were surprising everyone in the first few games,” Vilahamn said. “In the next phase, people were expecting us to play a certain style and the opponents tried to deal with that. During the game, they tried to switch formations to deal with us but I’m kind of happy with where we are because people are having to try to change formations to stop us.
“Unfortunately, the opponents succeeded in stopping us in the last two games; they scored one goal and we didn’t manage to score more goals. In the next phase, I think we have to look at how we can be sharper and score more goals. We also need to be better at defending when the opponents try different tactics against us.
“It is all part of the journey. I’m still happy with the performances and the way that we play. The results weren’t the best in the last two games but the performances were good and we created chances. People can see that we are playing the Tottenham style and I’m happy with that.”
All of Spurs’ fixtures in the lead up to the Christmas break are tough. In addition to the trip to Leicester City, the North Londoners will also face Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal prior to the festive break. Vilahamn is looking forward to seeing how his side cope with these tough challenges when the expectancy is more on the opponent.
He said “If you look at the first game against Chelsea, nobody expected us to win that game or even have much possession. When we went into that game, we could play one of the best games of the year. When we play Everton and Liverpool at home, people expect us to win the games and there’s always more pressure.
“Leicester is probably a game where there is equal pressure because they are fighting at a level that is similar to us then comes the games against the top teams.
“On the other hand, you see the top teams struggling against some of the other teams, so I think this year, the league is more competitive. I know that if we have a good game, we can beat those top teams but once again, I think we need to focus on how we can play well against the top teams and hopefully, we get points.
“When Christmas comes, I will review those performances and see where we need to change something or whether we got the points that we wanted. Playing against the top teams, we can see where we are because against the middle and bottom teams, we have played some good football, created chances and haven’t lost games.
“I think we are in a good place but we need to see if we can compete against the top teams. These games will show where we are and where we need to improve.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s upcoming Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Leicester City kicks-off at 3pm on Sunday afternoon.
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