Rehanne Skinner enjoys the comfort of new home at Tottenham
Tottenham Women have a new manager and a new home, with Rehanne Skinner confirming the team are now based full-time at the club’s Hotspur Way training ground rather than one day a week.
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Skinner, who was assistant to Phil Neville with England before taking the Tottenham job, said: “We have everything the players need to create a high-performance environment. It’s now on our doorstep. The stuff we have access to now is unbelievable and the players are ecstatic about being in this environment.”
Previously the team had trained primarily at Barnet’s the Hive facility, where they play their home games.
“The club were very aware of the facilities the players needed to evolve, so it shows their interest in the women’s team because they felt it was the right time to make that move,” Skinner said. “That made a statement to me about the intent of the club.”
Skinner replaces the joint-managers Karen Hills and Juan Amoros, who had been in charge since 2009 and 2011 respectively and had lifted the club from the amateur fourth tier to the professional Women’s Super League for the start of the 2019-20 season.
“Karen and Juan have had a long history in the game and have been around as long as I have,” Skinner said. “Everything they have done has been a really positive stepping stone to get the club to where it is now. Hopefully I’m in a position to move it forward on to the next stage the club are looking to progress to and build on all the good work they have done.”
Spurs have three points from three draws in the league this season, but have endured a rough run of fixtures with seven of their 11 games in all competitions against top-five teams.
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Skinner comes in with a kinder run ahead that begins at home against Brighton on Sunday and she will be able to enjoy the return of fans to the Hive and the good vibes that brings. “The timing of having the fans back in is just really fortunate for me,” she said. “Having the fans back in the ground will change the atmosphere in the game and hopefully that will bring a little more of a lift.”
The news of the approval of the Covid vaccine has also been welcome. Skinner said: “In terms of sport, that will then allow people to be more engaged in doing things that help with mental health and getting out and doing things, which will be great for those people and will increase our fanbase hopefully to see people in the games.”
