Spurs boss Vilahamn calls for better game management against Liverpool | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn says that his side must implement better game management when they face Liverpool at Brisbane Road this weekend.

The Lilywhites drew both league fixtures against The Reds last season. Spurs took the lead in both matches but ended up coming away with draws.

When speaking to the media ahead of the latest meeting, Spurs boss Vilahamn said that he is expecting another tough game and that his side must manage the contest better.

“They have a coach who has been in this league for a long time and that has had great success,” Vilahamn said. “You can tell that he knows how to win games and come back in games. His teams are strong and work hard, so when you play Liverpool, you know that you’ll have a tough game.

“We had two good spells in both games last season but they came back and scored goals on us, so we need to see how we game manage better.

“They have signed some new players as well, so it’s going to be a really tough game. We have had a good pre-season, a good start to the season and we know that if we have a good day, we will have a chance to beat them. We need to be really sharp though.”

Spurs struggled for wins at Brisbane Road last season but they defeated Crystal Palace in E10 on the opening day of the new campaign. Vilahamn says that his side will keep building on their form in Leyton whilst again highlighting the importance of good game management.

He said “It’s a great stadium, it’s a great pitch and we have fans behind us, so we can’t complain about anything.

“Last season, we didn’t get the wins that we needed [at Brisbane Road]. It was down to game management; there were a few games where we had draws that we should have won.

“I think it’s about the football that we play and how we take steps with that. When you play big games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with lots of fans, you get that feeling which probably helps you one way or another. It probably gives you something extra but you can’t say we don’t get that at Brisbane Road either.

“We won the first game of the season there and we just need to keep growing the experience at the stadium. It’s our home ground and we want to improve there.”

Five of Spurs’ next six games are against sides that finished above them in the Barclays Women’s Super League table last season. Vilahamn says that there is an expectancy on Spurs to do well in those games and that the results will provide a good marker of where the team find themselves.

He said “It’s going to be very interesting to have a lot of those games in a row. I feel like we want to be better and compete against these teams and now, people don’t expect us to win all of the games but they expect us to be better than last season. We are going to make sure that we compete in these games then afterwards, we can see whether we were ready to face those teams or not. If we are, we will have a good position in the table but if not, we will need to take steps to fix it quickly.

“It’ll give us an answer of where we are, where we are going and see how we can improve even more. We know we have a good chance of playing good football and competing. Last season, we didn’t really know where we were and you hoped that you’d get a good result but this season, we have to make sure we get a good result, that’s the big difference.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Liverpool kicks-off at 2.15pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets will be available to purchase on the day at Brisbane Road.