Women's Super League

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Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn said he won't prioritise where his side finish in the Women's Super League table over improving overall performances.

The 41-year-old led Spurs to their highest WSL finish last season as they finished sixth, four points behind Manchester United in fifth.

"If you ask me if trying to reach fifth instead of playing better football and scoring more goals, I cannot say that’s extremely important," Vilahamn said.

"Still looking at how we perform, how we score more goals, how we keep more clean sheets, it’s going to make us win more and then we are going to compete to get higher in the table."

Spurs also reached the Women's FA Cup final for the first time last season, where they were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United at Wembley.

Vilahamn hopes his players can use their experiences to build on as they prepare for a new campaign.

"We want to improve this season," he said. "Don’t misunderstand me, I want to go for the Champions League, I want to go for the [title] win, but I am also looking into this league and how big the gap was when I arrived to this league.

"We closed that gap a little bit, but you see a lot of teams invest so I would be stupid to sit here and say we are going to win this season.

"There is nothing from the board saying we need to win the league this season, so we are going to take steps to make sure we aim for the Champions League and the titles, but make sure we do it our way, with patience. We are going to push for as high up the table as possible."

Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Women's Super League game against Crystal Palace (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Shuang Wang, Ella Morris and Amy James-Turner are all unavailable for the season opener through injury.

• After James-Turner signed a new deal, Vilahamn said: "Amy showed some really good character last season. To be able to keep her helps me a lot and also helps the young players because she is always so professional and puts the standards where we want."

• Vilahamn is "really happy" with the summer signings and despite losing some players his message to fans is "I don't think they should be stressed".

• He believes Jess Naz is set for a big season: "She is a key player for us and the sky is the limit for her. How she looks in training, she is going to be so good this season."

• On facing newly-promoted Crystal Palace, he said: "They are an interesting team with a good coach. You never know how good they will be in the beginning. They can surprise many teams this season."

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New Aston Villa boss Robert de Pauw said he is targeting a top-six finish in his first season at the club.

In her three seasons with Villa, previous boss Carla Ward guided them to their highest WSL finish as they ended in fifth place in the 2023-23 campaign.

"Top six is what we have projected," he said when asked what success will look like come May.

"If you look at the past season we were seventh and we want to do better than that. The season before we were fifth.

"It will not be easy, there is no guarantee but that is the challenge you want to face."

Former Bayer Leverkusen boss De Pauw has been working on improving the team dynamic before the new campaign and said results are starting to show on the pitch.

"The players read a book about what makes a team function and what makes a team disfunction," he said.

"They have to understand if you want to progress as a team you have to get the best out of each other.

"We made them understand these are like building blocks you need to have in a team. Blocks like trust, dealing with conflict, commitment, accountability and being goal-oriented.

"If you have these blocks the chance of success if not guaranteed but it’s bigger."

Aston Villa boss Robert de Pauw has been speaking to the media before Friday's Women's Super League game against Chelsea (kick-off 19:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• The unbeaten pre-season campaign gives confidence, but De Pauw said it "isn't a guarantee" for success in the WSL.

• It has been a positive start in the "honeymoon phase", but De Pauw said: "Now the serious business will start".

• On the new signings, he said: "We brought in very dynamic players. I'm very eager to see what they can do in the league."

• De Pauw feels Villa's squad depth has been improved over the summer along with "the dynamic and the energy needed to progress".

• Deadline day signing Gabi Nunes is unavailable to face Chelsea, along with Georgia Mullett, Miri Taylor, Anna Leat and Jill Baijings.

• On facing the champions in the season opener, he said: "Chelsea will be nervous also. It's their post-Emma Hayes period so we expect some pressure there."

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Defender Amy James-Turner has signed a new contract at Tottenham that will keep her at the club until 2026.

The 33-year-old has made 51 appearances for Spurs since joining from Orlando Pride in July 2022.

A former England international, James-Turner started in all but one of Tottenham's Women's Super League matches last season as the club finished sixth.

She scored her first WSL goal in February's 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa.

Robert Vilahamn's side open their WSL campaign against newly-promoted Crystal Palace on Sunday at 14:00 BST.

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Manchester United boss Marc Skinner said he "feels alive again" heading into the new Women's Super League campaign.

With the highs of winning the Women's FA Cup and the disappointment of a fifth-placed WSL finish last season, Skinner admitted he was "psychologically spent".

But he is filled with enthusiasm for the new campaign, which begins against West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"I can absolutely assure you I have more energy now than I have ever had," he said. "I am absolutely raring to go and I am driven. I feel alive again.

"I feel really energetic and I want that to transmit onto the team. I am getting my energy back. Let’s see what we can achieve this season."

While United lost key figures including Mary Earps, captain Katie Zelem and Nikita Parris in the summer transfer window, but Skinner is happy with the business done by the club

"I’m excited about the team we have," he said. "We still have work over the next two windows to be the final version, but I’m very happy where we sit now.

"Above all, we feel like we are together like we were in my first season. It feels like we are all pushing in the same direction."

Marc Skinner has been speaking to the media before Manchester United's Women's Super League season opener against West Ham on Saturday (kick-off 12:00 BST)

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He has seen a "fresh commitment, energy, adaptable skill and more physicality" from his squad in pre-season.

• United signed six new players over summer and Skinner said bringing in new faces has helped to "re-energise" the group.

• On the transfer window, Skinner said: "It was clear in order for us to fully break into those historical top three we have to go a different route, so we’ve gone down the young and hungry route that is highly talented."

• Other than Evie Rabjohn who continues her ACL recovery, "everyone should be up for selection".

• Skinner expects a tough test against a West Ham side with "individual brilliance".

• He thinks there will be "a lot more upsets this season" because the standard of teams across the WSL has improved.

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