Spurs interim manager Vicky Jepsen has insisted there's "no extra noise" ahead of her side's season-defining relegation clash with bottom-of-the-table Reading on Saturday despite the backdrop of a first-ever club double-header at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs’ top-flight fate is on the line as they welcome the Royals to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for their penultimate match of the season, with a win enough to clinch WSL safety for next season.
The threat of relegation looms perniciously over interim manager Jepsen’s side, with Spurs claiming just one win since the turn of the year to see them sitting three points clear of the relegation drop zone with two matches to play.
And to up the ante on already heady occasion, the match will also mark the club's first-ever Premier League and WSL double-header, with Spurs' men's side kicking off against Brentford at lunchtime followed shortly after by the women's team.
But in her pre-match press conference on Friday, Jepsen dismissed suggestions that the nature of double-header was ill-timed, maintaining that home advantage would play a critical role in Spurs' do-or-die relegation showdown.
“If you’ve got the opportunity to do it, then why not?" Jepsen said. "For us, there’s no extra noise added to what we’ve got to do.
“If anything, it should help. It’s a home game. We should have home advantage and I’m hoping those home fans are spurring us on loud from the stands.
"We know what’s at stake in terms of WSL status. but it’s in our hands to make sure that we get the job done."
Spurs Women have played twice at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this year, falling to a fiery 2-1 defeat against title-chasing Manchester United before drawing 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion last month.
The familiarity is an attribute Jepsen believes the team can call upon come Saturday as Spurs bid to end a streak of successive defeats to Reading in the league and FA Cup this season.
However, critics of the club's decision to move the WSL fixture from Brisbane Road, the women tea's usual venue, to the men's stadium point to the potential for a mass exodus of fans following the culmination of the men's Premier League fixture with Brentford.
Jepsen refused to be drawn on the prospect, admitting that success for her resides in what happens on the pitch as she bids to stave off the threat of relegation.
Nevertheless, Jepsen urged Spurs fans attending the men's game to stay for the women's match as a show of solidarity and support for the club.
“What they need to know is that if they support that badge, they should support anyone whose wearing it," Jepsen said.
"So whether that’s the men’s team or the women’s team, they should be getting behind and cheering them on tomorrow. And by the way, they’ll be surprised by the quality and the talent that will be shown by both teams.”
Spurs Women kick-off at 4:15pm at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the conclusion of Spurs Men’s Premier League clash with Brentford at 12:30pm.
