Tottenham manager Rehanne Skinner has previewed her side's first home game this season in the FA WSL against Liverpool and a number of interesting topics were discussed.
The Lilywhites have started the season with a mixed bag in their first three fixtures. Their opening weekend away victory in Leicester couldn't be built upon in the North London derby as Jonas Eidevall's imperious Gunners side wiped the floor with them in game week two in what was a record turnout for the fixture played at the Emirates Stadium.
But they didn't dwell on that disappointing setback as a week later, prior to the October international break, a slim squad picked up the important group points in their opening Continental Cup match against struggling Reading FC.
Now the international break is over, and with a topsy-turvy Liverpool side up next, Skinner is happy to report mostly positive team news with a nearly 'full strength' side available for their first game at their new Brisbane Road Stadium (Leyton Orient).
READ MORE: Rehanne Skinner verdict delivered ahead of Tottenham's FA WSL return vs Liverpool
“We are looking in a better position than what we did before the international break. We’ve got several players who weren’t available for us at Reading who are in a much better position now," she told football.london in her press conference on Thursday.
“Several restricted minutes to be honest which has been part of the process this season but yes, we are almost going to be at full strength for the ones that aren’t longer-term injuries.
“But the positive is Kerris Harrop is much closer, so we are hoping that within the next few weeks, she will be back on the pitch as well.
“Next week, we will be in a position to have Chioma Ubogagu as well so that is positive.”
Their opponents Liverpool picked up a big scalp against Chelsea but lost comprehensively to Liverpool the next week at Anfield. That lack of consistency is something Skinner related to through her experiences when managing a newly promoted club.
“Obviously, stepping into the league is difficult, we all know that.
“It was a top team in the Championship, coming into the WSL, still creates problems for consistency.
“I had it myself when I was here, we weren’t consistent week in, week out when I came to the club, so it’s always going to be a challenge.
“They’ve obviously shown that they can get a result against a top team and it was a bit different the following week but Matt has a hardworking team, they are organised.
“He will make life as difficult for everyone as possible, so we’ve got to be prepared to be on the top of our game. Our most important thing is that we have got to follow on from the positive response in the Reading game and the way we performed in that game.
“We want to get some consistency ourself this weekend going into this one.”
New summer recruit Ellie Brazil opened up earlier this week on her manager's unique coaching techniques acquired from her time in England which started back in 2006. Having worked with different age groups and within Phil Neville's previous set-up, the 42-year-old outlined what she has adapted (managerial-wise) from her time with the Lionesses to the present day.
“I was involved with England from 2006, so I’ve spent most of my career in some age group or another with England," she clarified. “That was my exposure quite early on to the expectation of what a high-performance environment needed to look like, in order to be successful at the top end of the game.
“Obviously, from that time to the time we are at now, the support system, the support staff, the holistic approach to player development has evolved significantly over that period of time and over the length of my career today."
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