Presser Points | Spurs vs Man Utd (WSL) | Robert Vilahamn

Robert Vilahamn spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon, ahead of our Barclays Women’s Super League clash against Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (6.45pm UK).

Here’s what he had to say…

On being back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…

“Playing at that stadium, in front of our fans, they’re the best games every year. I think we're looking forward to it very much and also to just see where we are now. I mean, we had a tough spell of games after the summer when we played the big teams, but I'm ready to go again and see if we have a good chance to get a win.”

On the team being inspired back in N17…

“I mean, that's where we want to be, the players deserve to play on that big stage and it's amazing because the fans always are behind us at that stadium. Last season, obviously we had a win against Arsenal there, so we have a really good memory, (but) a tough game this year when we played Arsenal, but it's always feels good when we go there and make sure we can be on that professional level, and hopefully this time we can make sure we have some really good football.”

On Man Utd’s form ahead of this weekend…

“I think they’re one of the four teams in this league that have performed for a few years now, they signed some good players, I think this year they have nailed their pressing game and how they defend very well. Marc Skinner has been there for a few years now, getting to know how they're going to play and everything, so no, I'm not surprised. They are playing good football and they are defending very well right now.”

On how he will approach the game…

“I think one thing is to be very disciplined. We need to understand that we cannot attack the whole game, we are probably going to defend for a while as well, so we need to be very disciplined to make sure we defend together. We need to still have the bravery to keep the ball and find a way to attack as well, we cannot only kick long and hope for some glory, we need to make sure we are brave on the ball as well, but it's the part of the game, taking the right decisions in the right moments, making sure you go for it when we need to and basically putting your heart down and do it for the Club and try to get the three points.”

On Bethany England…

“All teams need their goalscorer, last season we had Martha Thomas scoring a lot of goals and, this season, it's been Bethany, that's really good, and then you need several more who can contribute as well. But then with Bethany, how she is as a person, as a leader, what she brings to the team, she's a great role model for the younger ones to represent the club. So I'm a massive fan of Bethany and I'm very happy to have her.”

On the exit in the FA Cup….

“Now we only have the league, now we can only focus on one-game weeks, how are we going to make sure we have good structure in the training and try to climb higher in the table? Right. So, in one way, you focus on that but, on the other hand, it also showed that we're not really there where we can actually perform and compete, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday. We also take steps so we can win those games because you can tell we tried our best, but we lost two cup games in midweek games so we need to make sure we can develop that for next season as the Cup is so fun to be in and we had a really good (run to the) Cup final last season. But, right now, we're going to make sure we have a good performance against Man United and then week by week until the end of the season, so we're going to try to be more stable in the performances and hopefully look upwards in the table.”

On improving on our recent performance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…

“Last season, we had three games and we won all three of them, that momentum you create around the team, that we want to raise interest in the women's team and grow it, these are the biggest games we can get for that. Arsenal, this year, was tough because we came into that game with bad self-confidence and we didn't really play our best football, I wasn't brave enough as a coach as well in that game. So we're going to make sure we try to find the right combination of bravery and discipline on Sunday to make sure we can go for the win. I'm also aware that the top four teams in this league, they’re tough games for us, and we also need to understand that we are underdogs, so we're not really expected to win. However, we also know if we have a really good day, we have a good chance to win, so we need to make sure we get a good day and hopefully we will get the result.”

On improving on our points tally in the league…

“If you look at the result, what you can actually measure, that's something we see that we can go for. Although I would say that if we can see really good football and show how we want to develop the team, and don't reach that goal, but we do more consistent performances, that perhaps is also a different way to see it because we cannot win the league this year, I can promise you that, and that's why we need to focus both on trying to get high in the table but still, the identity, the groundwork we have because next season that's when I want to make sure we can compete for real, so we need to build on that.”

On game management…

“One thing is the experience that you have, and you learn from the mistakes. Sometimes I think, me as a coach, I need to learn how I can use the subs in this different ways or when you speak to them when it's a break and so on, but I think it's the journey we are doing. We are we are taking steps, but we still have failure in that journey and we need to learn from that, make sure we don't do the same mistakes again. Game management is a really tricky one because everybody should have the same game management, but somebody might feel one thing and might do a quick throw in anyway, so that's more about the communication and getting to know each other as well. I hope and think that we are taking steps, Crystal Palace came out with a really good energy and the wind was extremely heavy on that side as well, but we actually had game management where we found a way to win, which is extremely good, so I think we still do some good stuff in that as well.”

On how the new signings are settling in…

“I think Lize Kop is a brilliant signing, she's a brave goalkeeper, both in possession but also out of possession, handling crosses and everything. She's starting to build relationships, she was cup-tied for the two Cup games, but in the league we have won with her and she has one clean sheet, obviously Crystal Palace scored twice, but it was nothing to do with for her. So that's a really good signing with a good age and good potential in her. If you look at Olivia Holdt, she had an amazing season in Sweden then she had an injury, so she came to us from an injury, which means that we need to build her up before we can have a benefit from her, but she's ahead of schedule. I think she'll still need a month or so, before she's really ready to show England what she can do. Josefine Rybrink is a really good player with high quality, she can be used in different positions and she will strengthen the depth, but you will see when she plays that she's a very technical and intelligent player that can help us in the right direction.”

On the latest team news…

“Drew (Spence) has struggled a little bit to play, she’s not injured, she has trained but I guess it will be too quick to put her in the squad on Sunday. She’s on the pitch and hopefully will be back soon. Ella (Morris) is back on the pitch, but she needs a few more training sessions until she’s ready for the games. But, otherwise, everyone is ready who hasn’t been out injured.”

On his and Bethany’s January nominations for WSL awards…

“I think Bethany agrees with me that it's not individual awards, it is basically team awards. I mean, obviously I'm the head coach, but I would be nothing without my technical staff and the rest of the staff group, so what we're doing, winning games, it’s teamwork and it's very good that people see that happening. You see it's a good club to work in, Bethany obviously scored a lot of good goals, but it's also connected to her team-mates. It shows that we are doing good stuff in Tottenham, that we are taking steps, but it's definitely for the whole team.”