‘good Energy’: Eveliina Summanen Backs Spurs Surge After Manager Change | Moving The Goalposts

When Eveliina Summanen joined Tottenham from nan Swedish broadside Kristianstad successful January 2022, everything changed for her. The 27-year-old knew she was coming to a convention pinch ambition, a convention progressively catching nan attraction of nan champion European talent, and a convention that stood to use from a location European Championship that would catapult liking and maturation further.

“At Spurs I sewage capable support and clip to benignant of turn into things,” Summanen says. “I wasn’t conscionable thrown into nan heavy extremity correct away. I sewage nan correct support, correct thief connected and disconnected nan transportation to get to wherever I americium now. It didn’t conscionable hap overnight, I conscionable slowly, slow kept building and that’s still what I want to do, support taking steps forward.”

Summanen has go a cardinal midfield cog for Tottenham, and earned nan grant for nan Women’s Super League extremity of nan period successful November for her stunning 40-yard victor against Aston Villa, which was besides voted Tottenham fans’ extremity of nan season, a extremity she describes arsenic a “one-hit wonder”. The Finland midfielder says: “It’s a bully point to support successful mind, getting goals and assists and to beryllium portion of that attacking crippled arsenic well. But I’m not expecting nan aforesaid benignant of goal.”

Her extremity was a uncommon item amid a difficult play for nan northbound London side, who vanished 11th, six places little than successful nan 2023-24 season, nan twelvemonth they besides reached a first FA Cup final. What went wrong? “To beryllium honest, I haven’t had truthful overmuch clip to bespeak connected past play myself, because of nan Euros and past having to move connected to preparing for nan caller season,” Summanen says. “But, evidently it didn’t spell arsenic we wished for. That’s conscionable a learning curve for each of america successful nan nine and successful and astir nan team, conscionable to retrieve that thing comes for free successful this convention and you conscionable request to activity for it.

Eveliina Summanen won nan Women’s Super League extremity of nan period grant successful November for her stunning 40-yard victor against Aston Villa. Photograph: George Tewkesbury/THFC

“Now we person a caller chance pinch a caller coach and conscionable a batch of caller affirmative power coming to nan team. So, nan champion point is to attraction connected what’s coming adjacent and not interest excessively overmuch astir what happened past season. That’s successful nan past now and we can’t alteration it. At nan extremity of nan day, that’s portion of shot sometimes. It’s going to beryllium reliable and location will beryllium reliable times during nan upcoming play arsenic well.”

The disappointing run led to nan departure of Robert Vilahamn arsenic head astatine nan extremity of nan season. The erstwhile Manchester United adjunct Martin Ho, who spent 2 years successful Norway arsenic head of Brann, was appointed nan club’s caller caput coach.

“There’s not been that overmuch clip yet pinch him but he’s fixed america a batch of bully power and that’s sometimes nan astir important thing,” Summanen says. “Without going into excessively overmuch detail, he’s conscionable tweaking mini things. It’s still rather difficult to judge, but nan first belief has been really bully and really affirmative and I consciousness for illustration location is simply a way for america to spell down. There is truthful overmuch much imaginable than what we showed past play and I deliberation he tin bring that imaginable retired of us.”

Summanen does not conscionable person to propulsion disconnected nan disappointment of past season; she besides has to exorcise her frustrations astatine Finland’s exit from nan European Championship successful Switzerland this summer, pinch Riola Xhemaili’s injury-time leveller for nan hosts ensuring nan qualified from Group A up of nan Finns. “It was a monolithic disappointment that we didn’t spell through,” Summanen says. “That was our clear goal. We were truthful adjacent to it and, successful my opinion, we played good capable to merit that chance successful nan knockout stage. But if you don’t triumph nan correct games you don’t get capable points, and that’s what it’s each about.”

There were positives to return from nan tourney for Finland; aft 3 defeats successful 2022 they astatine slightest earned 4 points successful Switzerland. “We’ve been taking nan steps successful nan correct guidance each nan time,” Summanen says. “We’ve shown now astatine nan Euros that we tin compete against bully teams, but we’re not location yet and nan results show that. So we request to support connected moving and evidently we’re focusing connected challenging for nan adjacent things up of america erstwhile we person our adjacent camp.”

Summanen has travel a agelong measurement from Lappeenranta, nan mini municipality she grew up in. “I don’t deliberation I had immoderate different action if I wanted to enactment successful my location municipality than to play pinch nan boys. So that was benignant of put connected nan array for maine and I felt for illustration that was nan champion point to do truthful I could beryllium much astatine location and wherever I person my family support astir me, which has ever been massive. Now, there’s much and much options for younger players, younger girls, to play pinch and against girls. You person much teams, you person much competition.”

Competition couldn’t beryllium fiercer than successful nan WSL. “I deliberation nan English convention is nan champion successful nan world,” Summanen says. “There are much and much Finnish players coming to nan league, which is really bully for us. And nan Finnish girls are besides getting bully roles successful their teams, not conscionable being rotation players.

“It’s awesome that players are capable to return these steps. In different countries arsenic well. We person a batch of players that are taking nan correct steps correct now and searching for nan champion imaginable environment, and I deliberation I’m successful 1 here.”

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