Inside Tottenham Women's resurgence: Patience paying off with big plans afoot | OneFootball

Fears of men’s team failures impacting women’s team successes allayed as Spurs eye Europe

A year ago, the Women’s Super League outfit were in a similar position to their male counterparts: relegation-threatened and without a manager once Robert Vilahamn was relieved of his duties.

The summer appointment of head coach Martin Ho, however, has reversed their fortunes and propelled the club into a promising new era.

The ex-Everton and Manchester United coach had just two years of managerial experience when he arrived in north London as the WSL’s youngest head coach, but his personable nature and down-to-earth approach have had an immediate impact.

Leading the charge: Martin Ho

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Naturally, catching the elite is easier said than done. Tottenham were harshly reminded of that after suffering a pair of 5-2 defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal ahead of the April international break.

The subsequent FA Cup elimination by Chelsea, where Spurs were cruelly denied a semi-final berth by Veerle Buurman’s last-gasp thunderbolt, gave them perspective. Ho’s Tottenham have the potential to push the WSL’s powerhouses to their limits.

Ho is pleased with this season’s progress, but far from satisfied. His heart is set on the Champions League.

“We have ambitions to get there,” he told Standard Sport, speaking pitchside at Hotspur Way. “I think we will get there. It has been a wonderful season for us now, but we can’t look back at this and sit on it.

But why are Spurs falling short against their rivals? Ho puts marginal losses down to individual errors and an absence of good fortune, though he appreciates his players’ accountability.

Ho has been impressed by his team’s ability to learn from their mistakes, and the pursuit of constant progress has gripped the club. Tottenham’s renaissance has not happened by accident.

The head coach’s impact has been rewarded with backing on and off the pitch. Four new faces arrived in January, and well-respected goalkeeping coach Ian Wilcock was added to the backroom staff this week at Ho’s behest.

He adds, however, that he needs more firepower to take the fight to the WSL’s heaviest hitters: “The individual capacity of those players is big in terms of those teams, looking at their squads and ours now, and that is just being honest.”

Ho seems set to get his way. Tottenham plan to spend this summer, Standard Sport understands, regardless of whether the men’s side are relegated from the Premier League.

Rebuilding: Ella Morris

Tottenham Hotspur

Full-back Ella Morris is in her second season as a Spurs player but almost feels like a new signing after her recent comeback from a 331-day injury lay-off.

Fate has conspired against the highly-rated ex-Southampton defender. Touted by some as a future England captain, the 23-year-old has ruptured ACLs in both knees, the most recent injury coming just two days into her first senior England camp.

That saw her denied a likely call-up for the Lionesses' triumphant Euro 2025 campaign, a blow she described as “devastating”.

But after a gruelling year of rehabilitation led by ex-Saracens physio Ben Sheath, she is focused on the future, which she committed to Tottenham with a contract extension in January.

After 12 months of watching on from the sidelines, she is equally keen to get her club career back on track.

“It has been really exciting watching [Tottenham develop], but frustrating at times,” she admitted.

“The club is doing really well and you want to be a part of that. It’s given me that drive.

“You can see my faith in the club, and the club’s faith in me, in terms of signing a new contract while I was injured. I’m just really grateful that they see a future with me in it.”

Lessons learned from the monotony of ACL recovery can be applied to the Tottenham project, where it is hoped patience will be rewarded.

“I learned I can’t do everything as quickly as I want to do it,” Morris continued.

The investment will come in, and that will keep eleveating us to get to where we want to be

Martin Ho

Ho echoes the sentiment, with Sunday’s WSL clash with Manchester United providing another opportunity to step forward.

“I have no doubts we’re moving in the right direction,” Ho said.

“We just need the time to do it and then the investment will come in - which is going to happen - and that will keep elevating us to get to where we want to be.

“We will make sure that we keep progressing the way we are and getting the right support from the club.

“They have given us confidence we can keep moving as we are as a team. The owners and the leadership of this club are very supportive of us and wants to keep taking steps, so I have no doubts we will keep doing that.”