Tottenham Hotspur are shaping up as genuine contenders for a top-four finish in the Women's Super League this coming season.
Breaking into the WSL's established elite is notoriously difficult. For the past seven years, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United have largely occupied the four positions at the top of the table, leaving little room for any other club to challenge their dominance.
That makes Spurs' transformation all the more striking. In 2024-25, they were sitting 11th and fighting to avoid relegation. Just one season later, they had climbed to fifth, completely changing the trajectory of the club and giving themselves a platform from which to challenge the teams that have dominated the league for years.
For much of their recent history, Spurs had been a perennial midtable side: competitive enough to cause problems but unable to consistently bridge the gap to the established elite. Their record against those top four sides reflected that struggle, with 45 defeats, two wins and six draws.
Now, that gap is beginning to close. The arrival of manager Martin Ho last summer has been central to that transformation. He has helped create a new-look Spurs which is built around a clearer identity, greater belief and higher standards. The club's impressive transfer window has strengthened the squad, signing former Champions League winners and seasoned campaigners, while the mentality Ho has instilled has given the players the confidence that they can compete with the best.
Two of those six draws against top-four opposition came last season, both against United. That might appear insignificant on paper, but they represent a broader shift in Spurs' trajectory.
It has the WSL community asking: Can Spurs finally make the leap?
A dream transfer window
If opponents begin to fear Spurs this season, then it will be down in part to the impressive transfer window they put together this summer. Despite their size, Spurs have still managed to attract top-level talent. "We knew what we wanted, we knew we needed to strengthen, and I wanted to make squad planning a strength of what we do, because we know it's competitive with getting players in," Ho told ESPN.
Their five key targets were wrapped up early, plugging important gaps while adding much-needed depth across the squad.
Striker Shekiera Martinez joined from West Ham following an impressive debut campaign in 2024-25, scoring 10 goals during the second half of the season to finish third in the Golden Boot race. Former Aston Villa and Manchester United forward Kirsty Hanson, who finished third in the WSL Golden Boot race last season, also joined to provide another versatile option to the frontline.
Goalkeeper Selma Panengstuen previously played under Ho at SK Brann, and her choice to join him in the WSL follows a similar path to January addition Signe Gaupset, who arrived in midfield for a then club-record fee of £378,000 (€430,000).
Caitlin Dijkstra adds experience and leadership to the backline. Having competed in the Women's Champions League throughout much of her career with Wolfsburg, Twente and Ajax, she brings the experience required to help guide Spurs toward a top finish. And Spurs' recruitment was rounded off by the signing of two UWCL winners: midfielder Victoria Pelova, who lifted the 2025 trophy with local rivals Arsenal, and defender Alice Sombath, who won the trophy in 2021-22 with OL Lyonnes and has five domestic league titles and four domestic cups to her name, and arrived for a new club-record fee in July.
Part of the key to attracting such a high caliber of talent was moving early in the window. By identifying targets in advance and getting deals done quickly, Spurs were able to make players feel valued while avoiding the risk of being drawn into bidding wars. Ho said all but one of their main targets had been completed early in the summer, with most of the players identified and planned for as far back as September 2025.
"It was maybe having those conversations early, understanding players' ambitions, our ambitions, and that direction. But a lot of it was done really early and a lot of those players, when you're doing your squad plan, were sitting at the top of the pile of what we were looking at," he said.
"I think doing business early definitely helps because it doesn't become an auction, where you're kind of just throwing bids in left, right, and center, but what it definitely does is enable you to squad plan for the future, know where you're going to be, and it was not just that."
Ho also praised the former managing director of the women's team Andy Rodgers, who departed the club in the summer after a 24-year tenure spanning a multitude of roles, for his impact on the team. Having taken over leadership of the women's team in February 2023, Rodgers was relentless in driving standards and laying the foundations for success both on and off the pitch. His work coincided with the club reaching its first FA Cup final in 2024 and securing an historic North London derby victory in December 2023.
Ho acknowledged that Rodgers enabled him to focus on his role while taking care of recruitment and the many layers involved in completing transfers.
"He'd just come to say, 'This is where we're at', on a weekly basis. Most of the time it was, 'Deal's done, deal's done'. So we're in a good space," he said. "He's had a huge impact, and we just need to make sure that we continue that work and have the same processes that enable us to push forward."
The academy has also been a key area of focus for Spurs. Developing young players is important not only for meeting the homegrown quota -- at least eight registered players must have been registered with an English or Welsh club for three seasons, or 36 months, before their 21st birthday -- but also for creating a sustainable pipeline of talent.
That has become increasingly important as the transfer market grows more competitive and expensive. The pool of elite players is increasingly thin, and this summer has seen more clubs look to their domestic rivals for reinforcements, with defender Katie McCabe moving from Arsenal to Chelsea, winger Beth Mead joining Manchester City from Arsenal and forward Melvine Malard moving from Manchester United to Chelsea among the notable examples.
"I think it all comes down to -- obviously, the economy plays a part, don't get me wrong -- but also it's probably project, feeling a sense of belonging, that's important to women's football," Ho said. "I'd like to think we lead the way in certain aspects and we do things slightly differently to other clubs. Maybe that attracted players to come to us. I think that's why probably some of the business we got done, maybe some people were shocked with, or not.
"I think it's us just being authentic and not trying to sell things that we don't do when they actually come through the door."
The manager that makes it work
If anything has transformed Spurs into genuine competitors, it is the arrival of Ho last summer.
Ho joined Tottenham after leading Norwegian side SK Brann to the Champions League quarterfinals, returning to England following previous spells as an assistant coach at Everton and Manchester United. His appointment was a significant step in his managerial career, but he quickly demonstrated that his relative lack of experience did not hinder his ability to have an immediate impact.
Despite a limited trophy haul and relatively little time at the helm of clubs at the highest level, Ho was ranked 17th in ESPN's inaugural manager ranking within the women's game. His reputation has been built less on a long list of honors and more on the speed and scale of the transformation he has overseen at Spurs, his attention to detail and his tactical acumen.
He inherited a team that had finished 11th at the end of the 2024-25 season and were facing questions about their direction. Within a year, he had guided Spurs to fifth, turning a side that had been struggling near the bottom of the table into one capable of competing toward the top end of the WSL. That transformation was enough for Spurs to reward him with a new contract less than a year into his tenure; the extension reflected not only the results he had delivered but also the club's belief in the wider project and its willingness to back a young manager with a long-term vision.
But perhaps the clearest indication of the trust Ho has built is the number of players who have chosen to work with him again.
Several of his former players were attracted to Spurs by the opportunity to reunite with a manager they already knew and trusted. Gaupset, Panengstuen and Hanson have all spoken about Ho's influence on their decisions to join the club, with his coaching style, personality and ambitions for the team emerging as significant factors in their moves.
"I think the project here at Spurs and the ambitions of the club, that's not like a top, top club but really want to become that, and also to be a part of that journey, I think it's really, really exciting," Gaupset told ESPN. "Then, of course, also the way we play now, I think it's so fun to be a part of."
For Hanson, the appeal was not simply the opportunity to join a club with growing ambitions, it was the prospect of continuing her own development under a manager who had already demonstrated that he could improve her as a player.
"I think you could tell last season how well they played and I think, where I am in my career, I want to obviously start winning things but also improving as a player," she said. "I've worked with Martin before, and when he got in contact with me, it was a project that I was excited to be a part of. I know Martin; he sets high standards, and he didn't just want to sign me as a player, but he also wanted to improve me. That obviously linked with what I wanted myself, so it was something I couldn't say no to."
That combination of belief and expectation appears to be central to Ho's management style. His confidence in players is matched by a belief that he can take them further, while his intense attention to detail has helped create an environment where players understand exactly what is expected of them.
"Martin is just very dedicated and really motivated, passionate about him being as a manager," Spurs goalkeeper Lize Kop told ESPN. "He expects a lot from us. He's very detailed. You're already that for yourself, but that someone is on top of every detail can be so good and make it possible to get the best out of yourself as well."
Hanson described a manager whose standards do not drop even when the result appears emphatic, with his reaction to success shaped by an insistence that there is always something to improve.
"You can tell if you've met him. He's a really nice guy, but he sets his standards very, very high," she said. "I know him very well, and he won't even be happy if you win 10-1. He'll be disappointed with the one, and I think that's just so important because it shows how he wants everyone to do well.
"He's not just signed all of us; he's signed because he thinks we're good. He knows he can make them better. He believes in us as well. The detail that he puts in is some of the best I've ever seen, and I do believe he will be one of the best managers."
That belief has extended beyond the players available to him on the pitch. Even before Ho had the opportunity to work directly with Spurs defender Ella Morris, he made an effort to establish a rapport with the England youth defender while she recovered from an ACL injury.
The injury, sustained before Ho took charge, ruled Morris out for almost a season and left her facing one of the most difficult periods of her career. For a player entering a new managerial era while unable to contribute on the pitch, there was understandable uncertainty about where she would fit into the Ho's plans. Instead, she found reassurance through his openness and communication.
"When he first came in, it was obviously, 'I'm not going to be on the pitch for quite a few months, so where will I fit into his plans? Will he see me fitting into his plans?'" she said. "We had a conversation quite early on, as he did with every single player, and he said exactly what he thought of me, what he'd seen from me last season, which helped reassure me.
"He's very supportive. Then as I got closer to returning, I would sit in on more of the meetings and chat through with him and the rest of the technical staff about how they want to play as a team and just being able to understand that and getting caught up with the rest of the team. It felt more like a smooth transition than it could have been, definitely, because of the support of Martin and the other staff."
Morris' experience is indicative of a wider approach from Ho: making players feel involved in the project even when they are unable to contribute immediately.
His influence on Spurs is now evident; not only in their results but in the way the players respond to him. The squad appear increasingly invested in the standards he has established, the environment he has created and the principles that underpin their style of play. There is a sense that the players are playing for Ho as much as they are playing for themselves. His expectations have become embedded in the group, with the non-negotiables he has introduced forming part of a new identity for the team.
That clarity has been particularly important as Spurs have attempted to develop a more possession-oriented style. Rather than leaving players to interpret the team's approach individually, Ho has established a framework within which they can operate, giving them a clearer understanding of their responsibilities and the standards expected of them.
"There's a clear framework we can work in, and I think that can help us as players; I think that's a standard we've got now at the moment," Kop said.
That identity might ultimately be the most significant part of Ho's impact. The results have provided the evidence of progress, but the greater change has been the creation of a team that understands how it wants to play, what it expects from itself and what its manager demands.
A new culture
The change around Tottenham has been palpable, and much of it can be traced to a fundamental shift in the mentality of the squad.
The transformation is not simply reflected in results or league position. Under Ho, Spurs have begun to develop a clearer sense of who they are, what they expect from themselves and, perhaps most importantly, where they believe they belong within the WSL.
"I think if we had spoken earlier when I came into the job, compared to now, we were probably spoken of as Tottenham, but now we're being spoken of as one of those teams amongst all the other teams," Ho said. "Maybe the perspective has changed a little bit. You look at that progress too. We've made a lot of change on and off the pitch, and I think I've seen a big difference in terms of cohesion and alignment through the club."
That change in perception is significant for a club that has spent much of its time looking upward at the established elite. Ho has not only sought to improve Spurs on the pitch, but to establish a culture throughout the organization that makes competing at that level feel achievable rather than aspirational.
When reflecting on his first season, Ho identified resilience as one of the most important areas of development. The objective was not simply to make Spurs a better footballing side, but to create a team capable of responding when matches became difficult, maintaining its principles under pressure and recovering quickly from setbacks.
That resilience sits within a much broader overhaul. When Ho arrived, he was determined to create alignment not only in the team's style of play but across the wider organization: its identity, ethos, DNA and day-to-day standards. Central to that was a desire for Spurs to become, in his words, "more brave."
Rather than allowing individual results to dictate the direction of the club, Ho wanted to establish a long-term roadmap, setting out ambitions across four or five years. That approach provides Spurs with a framework for measuring progress without allowing either success or disappointment to completely alter the bigger picture.
The distinction is important. A club attempting to move into the WSL's upper bracket can easily become consumed by short-term results, particularly when an unexpected run of form creates the possibility of achieving something ahead of schedule. Ho's approach has instead been to build sustainable foundations and ensure that ambition does not become recklessness.
For the players, that clarity has provided something that had previously been missing: a framework for understanding not only how they should play, but how they should respond when things do not go according to plan.
Ho didn't just inherit a struggling team; he inherited a club with a significant amount of negative history to rewrite. During the 2023-24 FA Cup campaign, when Spurs reached their first final but were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United, former manager Robert Vilahamn spoke about the wider mentality surrounding the club and the perception that Tottenham were not a team destined to consistently win trophies.
That mindset had long been difficult to escape. On the women's side, Spurs had spent years outside the conversation of the top clubs and had rarely been part of the possibility surrounding UWCL qualification. At their lowest point under another former manager, Rehanne Skinner, Spurs lost nine consecutive matches.
Ho's challenge has been to convince players that their ambitions do not have to be limited by what Tottenham have achieved previously.
"I think the biggest part of this is understanding that you can dream about things," Kop said. "We can dream about qualifying for the Champions League, we can dream about winning the league, but then it's like what is going to be realistic? And the big part is believing that we can dream about those things."
The distinction between dreaming and expecting has become an important part of Spurs' new mentality. Ho has not attempted to convince his players that trophies are inevitable. Instead, he has encouraged them to think beyond the immediate limitations of the team while remaining grounded in what it will take to reach those ambitions.
"I think we made a really good step with obviously the new signings," Kop added. "What Martin said -- that winning the league every year is probably not realistic -- is true, but still you want to dream about it, and what steps do we need for it?
"I truly believe the results will come. Focusing on the goals is not a big thing. It's just dreaming about those things and then what do we need for it and how are we going to move forward."
That philosophy encapsulates the shift at Spurs. The ambition has grown, but so has the understanding that ambition alone is not enough. Champions League qualification and competing for the title can now be discussed openly, but the focus remains on the steps required to make those ambitions realistic for a club no longer defined solely by where they have been.
