‘We can cause them problems’ – Ho backs Spurs to trouble Manchester City | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Martin Ho said that his side can cause Manchester City problems when the two teams meet at the BetWright Stadium on Friday evening.

The Ho era at Spurs has got off to the perfect start with back-to-back wins in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Manchester City are also showing positive signs under their new head coach Andrée Jeglertz and they will be Spurs’ toughest challenge yet. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Spurs boss Ho admitted that his side face a stern test but he believes that they can be a match for Manchester City.

“A different coach maybe brings a different style and organisation,” Ho said. “They are playing a slightly different structure in terms of build up and from a defensive side, they are a little bit different too.

“They pose a high threat. I’ve seen their recent games and the players don’t change even though the manager has. They have a high level of quality in that team and they have very good individual attacking threats. When they put their football together collectively, they are one of the best teams in the UK.

“I know it’ll be a tough game but I back our players to make sure we are competitive. I believe that we can cause them problems if we get in the right areas.”

After two rounds of matches, Spurs have arguably been the surprise package. While the North Londoners may have been underestimated from the outside, Ho has seen the ability within the squad.

He said “If you look at last season, I wouldn’t argue with people thinking that but having the hands on experience and working with these players every day, they’ve shown that there’s a lot more to come from the group.

“We’ve shown steps of that and development of that in the last two performances but more importantly, I know that we have more steps to take, we still have a lot of work to do. We will stay grounded in keep helping the group grow.”

Spurs were second-bottom of the Barclays Women’s Super League table last season and Ho went on to discuss the process of lifting the players’ spirits since his arrival at the club.

He said “There was a lot of work to be done on confidence and self-belief. It’s now shoulders up and chests out and we are in a position where we go into games ready to compete and wanting to win. Previously, you’d have to lift that confidence which is natural for a team that finished 11th.

“There has been a lot of that pick me up but actually, the players’ character to want to step out on that field, wanting to train hard and work hard is more important.

“We have a very clear focus on building that psychology in our performance together. We have to do that to make sure that when we do face that adversity, we are able to respond to it, deal with it and cope with that then when we have big moments, we are able to enjoy them. It’s about making sure that we can get the blend between performance and psychology and if we get that, we put ourselves in a good place.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester City kicks-off at 7.30pm on Friday night. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.