Long-term success won't be linear, says Spurs Women boss Ho

Very few successes ever come easy. Whether it's title wins or top three finishes, every WSL season is becoming harder to predict - and plenty of clubs, including Tottenham, have their eyes on the prizes.

Spurs started the 2026/27 season with statement wins against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, winning by an aggregate of 11-0 - but they came crashing back down to earth with a 6-1 defeat to London City Lionesses before the international break.

It would have offered Tottenham boss Martin Ho and his players a sharp reminder about the task they have on their hands if they want to finish in the Champions League spots this season - and it does not get any easier with Chelsea and Arsenal to come in the next two games, starting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

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But the ever-pragmatic Ho will not have forgotten that. Spurs have gone from relegation contenders to European consideration in less than 18 months under the former Brann boss, but any route to the top will not be straight forward.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, he said: "You're always optimistic that it can go well, but I'm also realistic that you don't just have this long-term success. It's not linear, there's going to be ups and downs, but I know if you want long-term consistency, you're going to have to have this.

"We can't just go from being a team that's been fighting at the bottom of the table to go and challenge for the [WSL] trophy and make that successful and consistent over years to come. There's a process to that but the ambition is always to be at the top of that table.

"Since coming in, I've tried to push standards, push the expectation with staff and players to give us a platform that can give us an opportunity to progress.

"The players deserve a lot of credit for that because they take the information and run with it. They play with courage, bravery, with personality which is what I asked for and their commitment and willingness is first class.

"Maybe there were times early on when I thought it was going to take a lot longer to get to where we want to be identity-wise, but the players deserve the credit because they've enabled us to maybe accelerate a little bit quicker than what I probably thought."

Part of that has come through shrewd recruitment, particularly this summer. Spurs signed Champions League winners Victoria Pelova and Alice Sombath from Arsenal and Lyon respectively, Caitlin Dijkstra also joined from Wolfsburg in just a few of the impressive incomings.

It all follows Ho's plan of bringing in different experiences from league, European and international levels to strengthen the squad and add a steel they were perhaps missing in his first year.

"We felt like we needed certain qualities in certain positions and those players that have come in have allowed us to do that," Ho said.

"They've also been in environments where they've been competing in different ways, they'll bring those experiences here which was important for us that we have a diverse environment and culture.

"You also want to make sure you get a balance also between the youth and experience of the squad. You want to get a balance of where you feel relationships can be built and where they can be long-term on the pitch.

"Alice [Sombath] was one of those in that position where she's had such wonderful experiences at Lyon of winning titles, but also internationally, she's got really good credibility at such a young age. The opportunity to bring her in was huge for us and someone we have followed for a while.

"Then people like Victoria [Pelova], who's coming off the back of a long-term injury. She was maybe low of confidence and wasn't in a place where she felt her football could go forward. The opportunity to bring her here after having those conversations was important.

"She's been part of a winning culture and a winning environment and those environments are what we want to bring to the club, which she can share and we can lean on those experiences from her.

"But since she's come in, she's been outstanding in terms of giving her the enthusiasm again to play football, but giving her the confidence and belief she can achieve what she wants in terms of own ambitions."

On October 24, Pelova will be reunited with her former Arsenal team-mates in the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It is the site of Spurs' only win against the Gunners in any competition, and given their rivals' own dismal start to the season, might be sensing another.

Before that though, a resurgent Chelsea - and another insight into whether this Tottenham team have what it takes to compete against the WSL's best.

"You have to show a willingness to compete in those games first," Ho reflected. "You go in with the mindset and the objective is always to win the game, but we have to look at the process behind that first and the performance has to allow you to be in that position psychologically.

"Are they going to be tough games? 100 percent, but they're the games you want to play and I want to play in as a coach, the players want to play in. The commercial interest is big in those because they're London derbies so you have to embrace them as a player.

"But they're the ones where you will really see the character and belief of the group, they're the ones where you'll really see the development and the progress of the team, but one game doesn't tell you if you're a good team or a bad team.

"It maybe gives you some answers in terms of where we need to go and the direction we need to go in, but it doesn't define you."

After a bruising defeat nearly two weeks ago, Spurs will have a point to prove in their next two games. While they might not define them as a team, it could go some way in defining where they finish come May.

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