‘You expect a response’ – Spurs boss Ho wary of Chelsea fightback | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Martin Ho says that his team are prepared for a reaction from this weekend’s opponents Chelsea.

The Lilywhites take on the Barclays Women’s Super League champions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea’s title defence is in tatters following back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City but Spurs boss Ho is taking nothing for granted and is prepared for a response from the South West Londoners.

“They’re a wonderful team and if anyone thinks that losing two games turns them into a bad team then you’re very mistaken,” Ho said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They’re a wonderful team with wonderful players and a wonderful manager. 

“They’ve played two top teams in Arsenal and Manchester City and in those games, it’s nip and tuck who takes the chances. Unfortunately, Chelsea have been on the back end of that but you expect a response, you know they’re going to be dangerous and we know their threats. They’ve got very dynamic players in the front-line, good players in central areas; they’ve got some of the most decorated central midfield players in world football, so we need to be aware.”

Tottenham Hotspur were defeated 1-0 by Chelsea in the reverse fixture back in October. Ho wants his side to retain their defensive resilience but show more character on the ball.

He said “In that game, we had to surrender the ball and go a lot without the ball. They had a lot of opportunities, a lot of crosses and a lot of final third actions but I thought our performance defensively was very solid. We withstood a lot of pressure and needed a lot of luck which we had. It was a wonderful strike from a world-class player in Keira [Walsh] that won the game.

“We’ve built on those performances, we’ve had some really good performances since then. We need to make sure we are better on the ball, braver with the ball and show more individual personality and character when we do have it. Defensively, we have to have the same robustness and compactness to our game. We have to be hard to beat but front-footed. We have to make sure Chelsea know that they’re in a game.”

Tottenham Hotspur return to the club’s main stadium this weekend and Ho says that the club are excited for the big occasion.

He said “As a collective, these are the games that you want to be a part of. Playing at the stadium is a massive thing for us as a team, as a club to make sure we can give the fans something to cheer about in a London derby.

“It’s my first game there, so I’m really excited for it. We are really excited but we have to perform at our optimum [level] if we want to win the game, we’ve got to be at our best.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea kicks-off at 2.25pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.