Rehanne Skinner on Tottenham's WSL journey: We must be better than last season
Tottenham have signed seven players this summer as Rehanne Skinner bids to improve her side; Spurs finished fifth in the WSL last season; This article was first published before the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Friday 16 September 2022 22:36, UK
It's hard to imagine that Tottenham are preparing for just their third full season as a Women's Super League club, given they almost broke the 'big three' stranglehold last year.
Their first WSL campaign was curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic so the 2020/21 season, which was played in full, saw them finish a respectable eighth place.
But last season - earmarked as another year of consolidation - Tottenham began to fly up the league, taking advantage of Manchester United's inconsistency and Manchester City's plague of injuries.
At one point, they were on course for a shock Champions League finish, but struggled to find the wins needed to keep up with their opponents as the campaign reached a conclusion.
- How to follow the 2022/23 WSL season on Sky Sports
- Essential Football: WSL preview - Can anyone stop Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City?
- WSL fixtures | Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports App
- Stream the WSL with a Sports Membership on NOW
Although there was plenty to be proud of, it does give Spurs manager Rehanne Skinner much to work on heading into the new season.
As with most managers, Skinner is a perfectionist - aiming to improve her squad this season - but also a realist and knows the league table will not lie come the end of the season.
When asked if another top-three push was on the agenda, she exclusively told Sky Sports: "That's the journey for us now. We had a fantastic end to last season, but we had some disruption with injuries and losing some players to the Asia Cup in January.
"We've got to be better in the second half of the season this year. That's then an improvement on last year and it helps keep us striving towards being in a higher position in the league.
"We're only another season down the line, we're heading into our fourth season in the league so in comparison to a lot of others, it's very early days. But those are the marginal gains we need to get going into next year and that's the important part of it now for us to focus.
"When you look at highly successful teams within the league, it's taken them eight or nine years to get to that point. It does take time, as much as I want it to happen overnight, that's the reality.
"Every transfer window, you have to build, you have to strengthen and you have to learn from the things that are going to help you be successful. We put a lot of building blocks in place last year and now we've got to see the gaps again and infill those things, which we've been working on in pre-season, and strengthening the squad again.
"The biggest thing for me now is we have to be better than last year. I'm a realist and wherever we end up is where we're supposed to be over the course of the year. The table doesn't lie so that's something we've got to improve on.
"If we'd had a better January or February, we probably could have maintained the momentum that got us through that spell. The last five games were a challenge as well because of the density of those games and the quality of the opposition.
"But if you want to play in the Champions League, you've got to be able to live with that regularly so that was a good lesson for us last year. Those are all bits we'll take out of it and put in place for the programme this year to keep moving forward."
One key part of that squad improvement - as Skinner herself said - has been transfers. It's been a busy summer for Spurs with seven new faces arriving, including well-known WSL names in Drew Spence, Ramona Petzelberger, Amy Turner, Ellie Brazil and Angharad James.
"Our squad depth is a lot stronger than it was last year so that's a real positive," Skinner reflected.
"We've grown with our experience in our midfield as well, that's seen significant changes. Our forward line has got a little bit more youth added to it so we've got players that are quite fearless, but need to adjust to the league so that's something that we've got to work on.
"Ultimately, we've got players with good potential that we've invested in for the future.
"They've all come in and added huge value in different ways, both on and off the pitch. We've got a fantastic set of players who work really hard to involve everybody, welcome everybody and when players come here, they always reference how welcome they feel. That's something that is important to me and the team.
"Then when you get those different types of experiences from those players that we signed, when you tap into that a little more, you get to utilise those strengths and you see them coming out of their shells a little bit more on the pitch as well.
"The things I've seen them do elsewhere start to come out as pre-season evolves a little bit further and then everybody sees the benefits that they're going to bring to the team. That's the process we're in at the moment so I'm really happy."
Perhaps two of the lesser-known arrivals help define Skinner's recruitment process. Forwards Nikola Karczewska - signed from FC Fleury 91 - and Celin Bizet Ildhusoy, who arrived from PSG in August, are both in their early 20s and ready to make their name in the WSL.
Skinner explained: "Celin is a player I was looking at last year, and I've had experience of her when I've played with England youth teams when she's played with Norway.
"She is very good technically, she will look after the ball, she'll add value to dominating possession, which we want to try and keep improving on. She's effective across the whole front line so she gives us some versatility in that area.
"Niki is an out-and-out centre forward for Poland and played in France last year. She's had a significant rise in terms of her ability and her influence, getting a lot of goals in a tough league last year.
"Ultimately, we wanted to get someone who was more effective more consistently in front of goal. She's already proven she's capable of doing that and physically, she's in great shape to cope with our league right from the off. She'll add huge value to the team."
Skinner has experience of helping young players too. Before joining Tottenham, she worked with the youth teams in the England set-up and for a brief time, with the senior women's squad. It gave her a first-hand look at the players who went on to win the Euro 2022 title this summer and contributing to the success.
"I've been fortunate to work with most of those players at some point or another, whether with the youth teams or the seniors," she said.
"The culmination of where that got to in the summer is something that a lot of people worked so hard for and for such a long period of time. It was quite emotional because you're thinking about things that people have down to break down barriers, make sacrifices to get to that point. There's a core group of people who have continually done that.
"I've been in the game for almost 20 years and I've seen all the phases of that and been involved in that at every level of the game so it makes it worth it. It's worthwhile that we've got to that point now of winning a major trophy.
"Sarina has done an unbelievable job in getting the culture right in the team, in getting them playing to their strengths, knowing the role of coming on as a game changer as much as you do when you start the game and how that panned out worked brilliantly for the team.
"In the final, I'm not sure we were the best team on the pitch, but found a way to win and were resilient. That's something we all need to take into the game because it epitomises the women's game - how people have been resilient over the years. That's what got the result at the end of the day.
"With the fans and the way that evolved over the Euros too was unbelievable. For me, being in the grounds, one of the key things was the way the fans were engaged within the game. The stuff that was put around it was a bit Americanised, but I actually thought it was a good thing because people wanted to be in the stadiums with a different feel to the men's game.
"I think it does need to be a different feel because it needs to be a different collective catchment for people who want to come into it. We need to think differently about engaging people, fans-wise, for the women's game and I thought that was a really good advert for what we should be looking at to increase our fanbase moving forward."
This article was first published prior to the football postponements following the death of The Queen.
How to follow the WSL on Sky Sports...
Sky Sports - All 35 games will be available across Sky Sports' flagship channels, including Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event.
Sky Sports News - Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Barclays FA WSL fans can enjoy Sky Sports News (channel 409) rolling editorial coverage of the league and its storylines throughout the season.
Inside the WSL - Hosted by award-winning broadcaster and journalist Jessica Creighton, Inside the WSL is a comprehensive round-up of all things Barclays FA Women's Super League and women's football. Airing weekly on Sky Sports Premier League, the half-an-hour show will review and preview matches, including in-depth analysis and exclusive player interviews. Viewers can expect gripping behind-the-scenes access as well as a summary of all the action both on and off the pitch.
Sky Sports Social - Alongside coverage and visibility for the league across all Sky Sports' main social media channels, the bespoke Twitter channel @SkySportsWSL will continue to be the home of all Barclays FA WSL content on Sky Sports.
New to the 2022/23 season, the Sky Sports WSL TikTok account will be giving fans 360° coverage of the league and granting them exclusive access to their new favourite players. Also a first for the league, a new Snapchat Discover show The Dub aims to become the platform's new hub for Barclays' WSL content.
Sky Showcase - All Sky customers will benefit from being able to watch the opening weekend fixtures on Sky Showcase (channel 106) without a Sky Sports subscription. This channel is designed to curate some of the top shows, films and sports from across Sky's channels.
Sky Sports digital - Follow all the latest from the WSL across skysports.com and app, including exclusive features and interviews, plus dedicated live blog coverage and in-game clips from games live on Sky Sports. You can watch free match highlights from every WSL game this season on Sky Sports' digital platforms and YouTube channel.
