Olivia Holdt says Tottenham deserve WSL second place ahead of London City test

Holdt hails Spurs’ strong start under Martin Ho

Tottenham are quietly building on the foundations laid under Martin Ho last season, and sit second in the Women’s Super League after an unbeaten start to the campaign.

Forward Olivia Holdt, who joined the club in January 2025, has been central to the early surge. She opened the season with a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace and has helped Spurs score the most league goals so far with 15, conceding just twice.

“It’s really early on, there’s still a lot of games to come and it’s going to be a long season, but so far, it’s looking really good,” Holdt said ahead of Sunday’s home game against London City Lionesses, live on Sky Sports Football from 1.30pm, kick-off 2pm.

“There’s nobody thinking it’s annoying that we’re second right now and we’re very happy to be where we are, but it’s also deserved because our performances have been really good in the first couple of games.”

London City, Chelsea and Arsenal to define season

Tottenham are three points behind Manchester City and a point ahead of Sunday’s opponents. Holdt expects a difficult challenge from London City, who have invested heavily this summer.

“I’m looking forward to Sunday. It’s going to be interesting to play against London City. It hasn’t gone past anyone that they’ve really invested coming into the season and got some really strong, good players. It’s going to be a good game.”

The fixture list then ramps up after the international break with successive WSL matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.

“It’s going to be a good test for us,” Holdt said. “And no disrespect to the teams that we have played, but they’re maybe more of the games that we expect ourselves to get three points out of. So coming up against the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, it’s going to be a really good for us to see where we stand and how we can compete against them. It is a level up.”

Holdt added: “If you look at the players, they have been at the top for many years, but whenever we play them in this season, I think we will be able to stand up for ourselves and give them a good game.”

Mutual respect with Ho fuels consistency

Holdt was Spurs’ top scorer last season with ten goals in all competitions, eight in the WSL, and has been one of the most consistent performers under Ho.

“He’s a great coach and he’s helped me a lot in getting my performances good in the league,” the Denmark international said. “I think it’s his ability to give the players confidence and energy and believe in themselves. We also have a good relationship outside of the pitch as well.”

“We have a mutual respect for each other. I can disagree with him and he can disagree with me. I think that’s why it’s worked well for us because we can be honest with each other. Martin can tell me the hard truth and I’ve told him not to beat around the bush. Sometimes it can get heated, but at the same time, we both want the best for each other and we have this mutual respect. It’s good.”

Versatility key to Holdt’s role

While primarily used on the right wing, Holdt has drifted more centrally this season.

“I feel like since joining Spurs, I’ve played some different positions. We’re trying to figure out where I can help the team most and where I can get the best out of myself. But at the end of the day, Martin is the one who takes the decisions, so if he wants to play me on the right wing, I’m going to do that. If he wants to play me as the 10, then I’m happily going to do that.”

“I like to see myself as a versatile offensive player, so where I’m exactly positioned on the pitch doesn’t really affect me that much as long as the game plan is set, and I have good players around me that can help me find my role. It’s nice to be everywhere a bit, and maybe it makes it harder for the opposition as well. They never know where I’m going to be.”

Holdt and Tottenham will be hoping that unpredictability helps them maintain their disruption of the WSL order over the coming weeks.