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Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn says that this afternoon’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion is an important game as his side bid to equal a club-record finish.
Spurs are four points behind fifth-place Liverpool with seven games to play. The Lilywhites can leapfrog this afternoon’s opponents Brighton & Hove Albion into sixth with victory in Leyton.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Spurs boss Vilahamn said that he has been impressed with Brighton & Hove Albion this season and highlighted the importance of this afternoon’s fixture.
“I think they have pushed the boundaries this year by playing some really good football,” Vilahamn said. “You can see that their coach has brought an identity; they know how they want to play and they play some really good football.
“They were winning a lot of games at the start of the season but have had some difficult games before and after Christmas. You can see how strong they are; I saw their game against Chelsea the other week, they’re a good team with a lot of good players.
“If we win this game, we can pass them in the table but if we lose, we will have to chase them even more. It’s an important game given where we are in the table and they’re in a similar place to us. It’ll be a tough game but we definitely have a chance to win.”
Spurs have never finished higher than fifth and Vilahamn believes that equalling that feat would represent a good season.
He said “Result-wise, we have a good chance to challenge for fifth place in the league. That’d be the best finish that Tottenham Hotspur Women have ever had, so we have a chance of getting the best position for this club.
“We are always aiming for that but you don’t get anything for finishing fifth; you don’t get Champions League or big money for that, so I want to make sure that we perform and take steps on how we want to play. Next season, we want to take even bigger steps.
“We want to reach top-five but it’s also very much focusing on taking the next steps, so that we can be very good next year.”
Spurs go into the game off the back of a four-match losing run. Vilahamn says that his side have learnt lessons from their recent defeats.
He said “I’m learning that the top teams are really hard to beat and sometimes, you need to adapt. Arsenal away was not a good performance, we were smashed in that game then we adapted a little bit for Manchester City and had a really good game; we were pressing high, defending well and creating chances. We could have got something from that game.
“The last game shows that we have a good chance of beating the top teams if we have a good game. Now, we play Brighton who are having a good season as well and we need to make sure that we can do a combination of pressing and creating chances to give us a chance of winning this game.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion kicks-off at 3pm. Tickets will be available to purchase at the Gaughan Group Stadium.
