Martin Ho wants his Tottenham side to embrace what he is demanding of them, even if it comes at the short-term cost of results.
The Spurs boss took charge in the summer following the sacking of Robert Vilahamn, who lost his job after the club finished second from bottom in the Women’s Super League.
Spurs were on a ten-match winless run to end the season but Ho snapped that streak at the first time of asking, as his side beat West Ham to start the campaign in successful fashion last weekend.
Ho has told the Spurs players to be “more expressive and brave with the ball”. While there is an obvious need to improve on the results picked up last season, Ho has made it clear he will not be satisfied with wins by any means.
“The biggest thing for me is performance,” the Spurs boss said.
“If you dismiss the performance, you probably lose the process behind the results. The performance gets you the results, I’m really, really big on that. I tell the players that a lot.
“If we perform to a level that we expect and it’s consistent, the results will follow naturally.
“I want to make sure we don’t just do things in flashes, we do it every week consistently. I know there’s going to be a dip in form at some point because there is naturally as players.
“It’s my job to make sure that when that happens we’re still resilient, confident, more competitive than we have been previously.
“Performance before result. But I also believe the process behind it gets you the result. I don’t think there’s anyone in the team who wants to win more than me.”
Spurs’ 1-0 opening-weekend win over West Ham was their first competitive victory since beating Crystal Palace in January.
With the club only making two signings in the summer transfer window, the immediate focus for Ho when coming in was on lifting the mood of a squad that had not won for nine months.
“80 per cent of it was building a mentality and a confidence and a belief, and trying to instil that behaviour in the group,” Ho said.
“That’s never easy after maybe the time they’ve had as a team. More importantly the players have embraced the identity and the way we’re moving forward. The win 100 per cent brings confidence in the players individually and collectively.
“It also probably takes a weight off their shoulders of not having a win for so long. We have to make sure we continue that feeling and momentum.”
