Robert Vilahamn has said he hopes Tottenham striker Martha Thomas can return to form as they prepare to face Aston Villa in the Women’s League Cup this weekend.
The 28-year-old made waves upon her arrival in the summer of 2023 Manchester Unitedscoring six goals in his first month at Lilywhite. However, the Scottish striker is yet to mark the 2024/25 season Women’s Super League (WSL), with their last goal against arsenal in December 2023.
90 minutes asked the Tottenham boss about his lack of form, as well as whether there are any closed-door talks about his recent performances.
“When you trust a player and he plays well but doesn’t score goals, after a few games it’s another one knocking on the door wanting to play,” commented Vilahamn. “Then it’s about when you make a change, and when you make that change, they can start to lose confidence in themselves. It becomes a bit of a vicious circle until you get over it and score a few goals again.
“We’ve had two really good conversations with Martha this week about scenarios and why she didn’t play too much in the last game (against Arsenal). She had looked good in training so it’s a difficult thing but it’s also a good thing to go through difficult periods I also have the firmest belief that she can come back and score those goals for us, because to be honest we need them too.”
Thomas has been superb when playing as an international, scoring in both of Scotland’s wins against Hungary during the October break. Vilahamn was sure of this, stating that “it’s about how she can find confidence in herself, because she has it in the national team”. He added: “We have to find ways for him to get into the same spaces as our team and score those goals.”
The number nine position may be Tottenham’s most competitive on the pitch, with Beth England and Jessica Naz often given a place in the starting line-up over Thomas so far this season.
“As a coach it is very difficult to find a way to give confidence because you also have to have the competition,” explained Vilahamn. “Martha is a player and a character you want to have on the pitch, so sometimes you move her to different positions because you can use her and she’s stronger than other players in those roles.
“But, of course, you don’t get the goals all the time. In the perfect world, you don’t and she plays like last season when she just scored goals all the time. When you’re a little bit lower as a team, then you have to find ways “.
