Tottenham’s burst of positivity under Martin Ho is boost for WSL as a whole | OneFootball

Winless after January and finishing second from bottom in the Women’s Super League, it was unsurprising that the mood was gloomy around Tottenham last season. Bleak, you might say. That is why their current new-manager bounce and burst of positivity is such a breath of fresh air, not only for the club but for the WSL as a whole.

Under Martin Ho, Spurs have won four of their opening five WSL matches of this campaign, putting them third in the table, four points better off than neighbours Arsenal, and they could even go top on Sunday if they were to pull of a shock win at leaders and champions, Chelsea.

A team that conceded the joint-second highest number of goals last season has kept three clean sheets out of a possible five in the league, and that has come in tandem with much-improved performances from the Australia defender Clare Hunt, who has barely put a foot wrong alongside an early contender for the division’s young signing of the summer, the 19-year-old Japan centre-back Toko Koga.

Tottenham fought off Champions League clubs’ interest to sign Koga from Feyenoord and, with her maturity awareness and maturity of defensive positioning, you could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking she is, at the very, least, in her late twenties. At the other end of the pitch, Spurs’s other summer signing – yes, they only made two signings this summer – Cathinka Tandberg, has scored three times and could become only the third Tottenham player to score in three or more consecutive WSL games.

There is a tone of authority and confidence about Ho, the former Manchester United assistant manager who has handled his media duties with conviction alongside a relaxed tone that seems to be rubbing off on his team. He is also refusing to get carried away with his side’s early form. “There is still a lot of work to do; we’re only five games in,” he insisted in the buildup to the Chelsea game. “The players’ feet are very well grounded. We always look for things we can do better and we have to keep improving.”

It is understood Tottenham had a shortlist of about 30 candidates for the head coach post this summer before eventually interviewing seven, and it was Ho’s obsessive passion for the role, combined with what were seen as glowing references, that led to him being appointed after a two-year spell at Brann in Norway.

So are Tottenham the real deal or is their early success under Ho a temporary hot streak? The watching world may well find out on Sunday as they take on the toughest assignment in the WSL: facing Chelsea away from home. Sonia Bompastor’s side have won all 11 of their previous WSL meetings with Tottenham and are unbeaten in 30 consecutive league fixtures.

There was a boost for Tottenham’s followers this week when the club’s owners injected £100m into the club. The Lewis family trust want the cash to “continue the focus on driving long-term sporting success”, and while no specific breakdown has been provided publicly regarding how much of the extra finance will go to men’s football, women’s football or the academy, Ho has spoken positively about the owners. “I’ve met them numerous times at the games. We are very well supported,” he insisted. “They are doing everything they can to make sure we evolve and we grow. I have no doubt they’ll continue to support us in the next window and beyond that; they have some really ambitious plans for this team.”

This week the club also confirmed the appointment of Lawrence Shamieh, formerly Manchester United’s analyst, as first-team assistant coach. That followed September’s appointment of Adam Jeffrey as first-team coach, while Sara Cullis, who joined from Manchester City in June, is Spurs’s new head of analysis, leading on talent identification and recruitment. “You have to have people around you that you can trust and it enables the players to grow also, not just me,” Ho said. “I believe we can be pioneers in those departments which we have really strong colleagues in. It’s a really big step in the right direction.”

Tottenham also won four of their first five WSL matches in 2021-22, a campaign when they went on to achieve their highest ever top-flight finish of fifth. They also started the 2023-24 campaign brightly under Ho’s predecessor, Robert Vilahamn, and the challenge now will be stretching the run. Opta predicts Spurs only maintain a 1.1% chance of finishing third but they are now deemed more likely to finish in the top half than any of the other sides outside of the WSL’s established ‘big four’. Spurs’ future – for now – certainly looks brighter.

Header image: [Photograph: Maja Hitij/WSL/WSL Football/Getty Images]