Ashleigh Neville looks back at the first half of the season: “It has been an excellent start"

Defender Ashleigh Neville reflected on an excellent first half of the campaign, highlighting the improvements compared to the end of last season and the impact Head Coach Robert Vilahamn has made since joining the club.

2023 came to a fantastic end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, securing that memorable victory over Arsenal – the first-ever win over our rivals – and left us sitting sixth in the Barclays Women’s Super League table, just three points behind fourth-place Manchester United.

Ashleigh – who has started in every game in the WSL this season – has been delighted with the first half of the season and highlighted the improvements seen compared to the backend of the last campaign.

“I think we have had a great start to the season, with Robert coming in and a fresh look at the style of football we want to play along with the addition of some excellent players, I think it has been an excellent start,” Ashleigh said.

“I think we were under a lot of pressure at the end of last season, with a few losses and being at the bottom end of the table. So, at the start of this season, getting those first points on the board really helped pushed us. I just think the belief in and around the club, the way we want to play football is exciting and, although it’s risky at times, it is suiting the players we already have at the club.”

Despite having only played 10 games so far this season in the WSL, we are just three points off last season’s points tally and Ashleigh believes the style of football has suited the group of players in N17.

“Obviously, with the addition of players that Robert brought in at the start of the season, it’s great that we have already got that base of players that suit that style of football and I think you can see that, week in, week out, with how we want to play,” Ashleigh added. “It has been quite exciting for me to watch us play when I have not been involved in the squad.

“If you look at the Man City loss, we still tried to do the stuff we worked on and play out of the back despite the scoreline. I think that’s great that we are not changing our gameplan and we are not changing things massively to try and get the result and chase games.

“It kind of shows ‘this is how we are going to play and we are going to build on that’, there might be a few tweaks, but I think all the players are invested in that, which obviously helps when everyone is on the same page and you can see that on the pitch.”

Robert joined the club in the summer from Swedish side BK Häcken, and despite only being in N17 for six months, he has certainly made an instant impression and Ashleigh was full of praise for his impact.

Ashleigh added: “Robert has been great. He’s a nice, down to earth guy and very approachable. He understands, especially for me, my individual experiences and what my life entails away from the pitch and supports me the best he can alongside the club. It’s just the way he has come in, the style of play he has installed and the players he has brought in to help push the club forward is great.”