Presser Points | Spurs vs Aston Villa, Women’s League Cup | Robert Vilahamn

Robert Vilahamn spoke to the media at Hotspur Way ahead of our second group game in the Women’s League Cup against Aston Villa at Brisbane Road on Saturday (12.15pm UK).

Here's what he had to say...

Reaction from Arsenal

First up for Robert, he was asked about his thoughts on last weekend’s defeat in the north London derby…

Robert: “If you compare that game to last season against Arsenal, at the same stadium, we had a tough start to that game as well, they hit the post and didn't score an early goal, we grew into that game with the fans as it was 0-0. This game was obviously a tough start, we were not really aggressive in blocking that shot and then we were trying tactics where we're supposed to go for more counter-attacks and have a good shape to defend, but it made us a little bit more passive instead of aggressive, they then went 2-0 up. The second half was much better, we started the second half in a good way, we went back to 4-2-3-1 and had a quite good end of the game, but Arsenal is a better team right now and they won the game because they’re better.”

Switching focus to Women’s League Cup

Robert was then posed with the question, ‘is it nice to move focus from the Barclays Women’s Super to the Women’s League Cup?’

Robert: “I think mentally it's actually quite nice to go into a cup game and, obviously, a cup is something that can take you to a trophy in a shorter distance as well, so you want to compete, but also to make sure we bounce back from these tough games we have had. To go into a game where we want to win, we have a good chance to win, but it doesn't affect the table, so mentally it feels good. The players also had a good first meeting at the beginning of the week and then we looked forward to this game, what we're going to improve and what we're going to do for this game. I feel like the players are looking forward instead of backwards, which is actually really nice because the training sessions have been great and the feeling in the group is actually good, so I'm happy with that.”

Team news

Robert was then asked to provide an update on the latest team news ahead of Saturday’s clash with Villa…

Robert: "Luana [Bühler] got a knock against Arsenal so she's out for a few weeks, Drew [Spence] is sick and will not be in the squad for tomorrow, but, otherwise, everyone else is ready to compete for tomorrow.”

He then provided a positive update on Maite Oroz’s progress…

Robert: "Maite is back doing warm-ups in training with the team, so she's taking steps but is still not ready for a few more weeks.”

Rotation

Robert was then asked about whether his team selection for this weekend will be impacted by trying to rebuild momentum in the squad…

Robert: “It's a mixture because this time we play on a Saturday, it’s normally when you have a midweek game, then it's very good to rotate the squad and make sure everybody gets the minutes. I think, now, we’re in a situation where we are ‘should we find a way to get bounce back and get good self confidence in the squad?’ but I still want to make sure we use the squad, so there's going to be a mixture. You're going to see a few new faces, but it's also going to be some of the players who played in the last game. It's a mixture, but it’s a really strong level that we will put on the pitch, it's a good way for us to bounce back after a few really tough games.”

Aston Villa

After picking up their first WSL victory of the season last weekend, beating Crystal Palace 3-2 at Villa Park, Robert was asked about his thoughts on their performances so far in this campaign…

Robert: “It's quite interesting this season with some of the results, performances and who's winning games, Crystal Palace had really good chances against Aston Villa the other game, but they came back in that game with a brilliant goal by Ebony Salmon. When we played Aston Villa, we didn't reach the level we wanted and we didn't really play the way we wanted to, but we still got a draw which was good. We also know that the only way for us to improve and beat Villa is to make sure we nail the game plan, the way we want to play, the way we want to press and, if we do that, we know that we can compete against Villa, definitely. I'm also aware that they have signed some really good players this season, they have a new coach, they’re quite good in many of the games, so this is going to be a tough game. But I'm learning that in this league, in this country, that all the games are extremely competitive, you need to be on your toes, need to make sure you do the right stuff, otherwise, you have a tough day. So, we're going to do everything we can to play our style and make sure we win tomorrow.”

On upcoming run of fixtures

Following a tough run of fixtures, facing last season’s top five in our last six games, Robert was asked about what he has learnt and what he wants to see from his side in the coming weeks…

Robert: “When you play against the top five in the last six games, obviously we lost all five of them, which is not good, but if you look at expectations from last season, when we played against the top five, we played ten games in the league and we only won one of those ten games. Liverpool we should absolutely compete against, the other thing is like, ‘do you expect us to beat the top four?’ I mean, I want to do it, we're aiming for it but to expect it, I don't think we are there yet. If we don't do everything right in the defence, in the press, we obviously lose those games and, when I reflect on that, when you play them in a really tight period of time, it also puts an effect on your self-confidence and everything you do about it. So, coming into the next games now, it’s obviously games you might expect us to win or have better result, I agree with that, we need to make sure we build that self-confidence, that identity again, so we don't lose the momentum on who we are and how we want to play. We should definitely have more expectations to have better performances, better results, but you always know what you need to improve.”