ROBERT VILAHAMN believes he and Ange Postecoglu have much more in common besides both being in charge of Tottenham teams.
The Spurs women’s boss, 40, sees himself and the Australian as being brave about getting their teams to play good football.
Vilahamn’s Australian counterpart has brought the feelgood factor to the club.
Postecoglu’s Premier League aces are currently fourth and unbeaten after two draws and four wins.
And the team’s free-flowing attacking football has left Spurs fans drooling after the turbulent end to Antonio Conte’s two-year reign.
Vilhahamn, who was appointed in July after two years at the helm of Swedish side BK Hacken, hopes to cultivate more flair in his side’s style of play
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His aces will face a stern WSL season-opening test from a team renowned for winning games in style.
They play title-holders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday with the Blues having won all seven of their previous league clashes .
Vilahamn said: “Tottenham want to play a style with the men’s team and the women’s team, academy.
“I think me and Ange try to do the same stuff with how to play.
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“Not the same formation all the time but trying to be brave enough to play good, offensive football and in the long run, win games.
“The men’s team is already winning games. Hopefully we can have a good start, make some good results.
“But I also need to have respect against the top teams in the league so in the beginning it might be a mixture of the game model, and how to actually try to win against Chelsea.
“But in the long run you’re going to see a Tottenham that dictates games, presses high and wants to lean forward and try to score a lot of goals.
“We shouldn’t expect Tottenham to win the league this year, but we need to make sure we show the supporters, the board members and everyone that we play better football.”
Last year Tottenham entered the 2022-23 campaign with the hope of building on their fifth-place finish the season before.
While striker Rachel Williams departed for Manchester United, experienced talents including Ellie Brazil and ex-Blues star Drew Spence joined the side last summer
However they suffered some fitness blows last with Brazil sidelined by an ACL rupture last October and midfielder Ria Percival and forward Kit Graham out with knee injuries.
And they found themselves dragged into a relegation battle which they survived but one that led to the club parting company with former gaffer Rehanne Skinner.
For Vilahamn the aim this term is a top-six finish for the team who were seen as dark horses for a top four finish two seasons ago
He adds: “They (the club) don’t want to push me to win the league the first year.
“They want to push me to make sure we have this identity and of course they want to be better than last year and hopefully be in the top six of the table.
“But the most important thing is to show you guys we play Tottenham football.”
Spurs’ WSL survival was partly fuelled by the club making the bold move of signing Lionesses star Bethany England from Chelsea for a £250,000 fee in January .
The league’s most expensive British player repaid their faith by netting 12 goals in 12 top-flight appearances, helping them avoid relegation by finishing tenth.
This summer saw England given the captain’s armband before the start of the new season.
However her team will be without her services with the striker currently recovering from hip surgery.
Vilahamn added: “When you lose that kind of real superstar as a player you need to find something else – you cannot find a new Beth England.
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“We are in a good position but it’s how strong we should be on 1 October against Chelsea .
“I hope we can make results quickly and if not, I hope we can see the longer perspective as well.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
