Presser Points | Brighton vs Spurs (WSL) | Robert Vilahamn

Robert Vilahamn spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon, ahead of our final game of the calendar year against Brighton & Hove Albion at Crawley on Saturday evening (5.30pm UK).

Here’s what he had to say…

On the week so far

First up, Robert was asked about the week so far, with wins against Everton and Crystal Palace, and how proud he’s of the players for their recent run of form…

Robert: “I’m very happy, actually, because I feel like the character and what we want to do is not only showing when you’re winning games, it’s how you can come back from when you lose a few games as well. So, there were a few losses before that and to handle that in the way we did and how we bounced back, winning games again and defending very well, a lot of people think that we cannot defend and we've shown that we can do that, we can press high, we can play out from the back, so I feel like it's a big, big thing to show the character of this group and the potential. But we're still not there yet, where we can say that we are a top team, but we see now that we have a good character in this group to come back and, I think, that's what I want to see right now because we're taking steps now to make sure we can be more stable in the performances and make sure we get more points.”

Team news

He was then asked to provide an update on team news ahead of the trip to Brighton…

Robert: “It looks like more and more players are back in business, Becky [Spencer] was on the grass today but she’s had a sickness and getting back from that, so she’s probably not in the squad for tomorrow. Otherwise, I think, we look really strong.”

Consistency

Robert was then asked about the importance of consistency in performance and getting results over the line…

Robert: “When you become very consistent, that's when you are a top team. If you look at the top teams in the league, all of them won 4-0 in the last game or something like that, and when you come to that level, when you win the games, even if you don't have the best day, then you are a top team. We’re a top team sometimes in every game, but we're not a top team in every game, so that's the journey we are doing and then it's like, okay, is everything dark just because we're losing one game? No, it's not. It's just more like, okay, this is where we are and this is what we need to fix, then when we're fixing stuff, new stuff comes up, but this is a journey. To build a team that's going to be a top team, you need to go through tough times and good stuff, so it's logical and we also make sure we just keep going even if we lose games. So we're not there, but we are really consistent, I think the last three games have shown that we’re very good to come back from tough games and to have some really good defence work and a few really good goals. The Palace game showed us that the whole squad is on the journey as well, we played some players who haven't played too much and they've been good, they scored goals, so it showed that we have that the quality in the group. But we need to be more consistent.”

He was then asked whether a fourth straight win would continue to show that consistency…

Robert: “I mean, we play Brighton away, they have had a good start of the season.
I don't think anyone expects us to just go and smash them, but we know that if we have a good day, we have a good chance to beat them. I think we want to be higher than Brighton in the table and, if we're going to try to compete this season, we know we need to have a good result in this game. But, mainly, we also need to make sure we have good performances and make sure we take the steps forward. So, important game, it could be a very good win if we go to the Christmas break with four wins in a row but the main thing is that we take steps all the time and keep growing and keep developing, then the result will come.”

Christmas break

With our clash with Brighton the final game of the calendar year, Robert was asked about his and the teams plans for the festive break…

Robert: “I will have some time to go back to the north of Sweden and have Christmas there, that will be nice. But we’re actually getting the players back in the days before the New Year to make sure we have some good training over the New Year. So, it's not the longest break, but I think they're going to get a few days to relax a little bit. The main thing is you don't want to be too much off, you need to take that back and have a really hard training week when you come back. Now, we found a good level where they can have one week off, then a few more days where they train at home and then we take them back. But I'm going to have some snow in Sweden, so that’s going to be nice.”

Ending the year on a high

He was then posed with the question, ‘do you think the festive break could break up the momentum?’

Robert: “To go on a break with possibly four weeks in a row, you're going to have a long time where you feel like you're unbeatable and that's going to be good for your self-confidence. You can look at it in different ways, but the main thing is that we take steps, how we look at the games. If you look at Crystal Palace, this was a very stable game. we were quite good in the build-up, we were quite good in defence, we scored two goals and created a few more good chances. I think the Palace has been quite good in the league, even if they are in the bottom, they still have some really good players, so we’ve taken steps in that performance. Now we’re actually winning games and having clean sheets more and more, then people have come back from injuries and that break would basically do even more for us to make sure we regroup, work, train harder and work on details. So, I'm just looking forward to catching a break, actually.”

Drew Spence

Robert was asked about the performances of the midfielder so far this season…

Robert: “She set the standards on how good technically and how good game understanding you can have. In the beginning I was a little bit scared of her fitness, whether she could handle the tempo in this league and everything, but she has taken steps there as well. Now she's really fit to make sure we can press high when she plays in the 10, she can work really hard in the lower position as well, so I think she's a role model for the younger ones actually because the level she has is a really high level. I'm extremely impressed how she plays, how she wants to get better even if she's 32, and the mindset in training to work hard, so I'm very pleased to work with her. That's why we signed a new contract with her as well, because she has more to give and I think she can actually be even better.”

On the opponent

Robert was then asked about his assessment of Brighton’s campaign so far…

Robert: “I think they're quite similar to where we were last season, a new coach coming in with the identity, the Brighton identity as well, they have a good match together. They have signed some top, top players and have performed very well. Of course, they have some moments in the games where they struggle, when they compete with the top teams. I'm impressed, I think they have a really good coach, the squad is strong, so they’re basically up there too, to try to break into the top as well, just like us. It's going to be a very tough game, but it's also Brighton is one of the teams we want to be better than. So we need to go there tomorrow and show that we are a top team, soon.”

Molly Bartrip + Ashleigh Neville

The two defenders have played every single minute in the WSL so far this season and Robert was asked about their qualities…

Robert: “I mean, in one way, it’s who they’re as characters and the way they play. They’re very much players that suit the way we want to play and, if you bring in new players, they’re the ones to show the other players to look the way we want to look. If you play as a winger in front of Ashleigh, you know that you're going to help them to look the way we want to look at the team…. same with Molly. If you have her as a centre-back and a new defender comes in, a new left back and a new pivot in a game, I'm trusting Molly very much to make sure those who play around her will look very good because she’s a great talent. They’re very consistent in the fitness to make sure they can handle this amount of games, some of the other players haven't been used to playing so many games and then it's a bigger risk if they play those games. So it's a mixture of those two, but both of them were amazing against Everton and Crystal Palace.”