Tottenham 'thriving' under new boss but Spencer reveals 'mental impact' of World Cup

After being embroiled in last season's relegation battle which ultimately saw Reading relegated to the Women's Championship, Tottenham ended the WSL season in ninth place.

They have since appointed ex-BK Hacken manager Robert Vilahamn as their new boss for the coming season.

Spurs' starting keeper Spencer told talkSPORT that there were high expectations for the club this season.

She said: "With the new manager coming in, it's been made pretty clear for us that obviously we want to do better than we did last year. How that looks is performance-wise.

And she added that the team had already settled in well to Vilahamn's new approach - an approach which the Swede has admitted was similar to that of men's team manager Ange Postecoglu.

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Spencer said: "(Vilahamn's) brought a different style of play into our environment which is something that we're all thriving off."

Tottenham opened their WSL campaign against defending champions Chelsea, who are going for their fifth consecutive title this season.

While Chelsea eventually held on to win that game 2-1, Tottenham showed moments of great promise and looked unrecognisable from the side who had struggled to avoid relegation last season.

New signing Martha Thomas looked dangerous for Tottenham, clawing back a goal in the 76th minute and coming close to an equaliser.

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After it was announced that their captain and star striker Bethany England would be out for an extended period following a hip operation, Thomas could be key as the team look for another source of goals.

When asked what success would look like for Tottenham this season, Spencer told talkSPORT that it was all about 'performance' on the pitch.

She said: "Consistently performing the way we want to play is something that we are striving towards - concentrating on us.

"With Robert coming in, he's brought a new style of play to us - we want to keep that style regardless of who we're playing against.

"Playing against Chelsea I think we showed, even after eight weeks of training with him, what we're going to bring to the table."

Spencer returns to the WSL following an outstanding World Cup campaign with her national team, Jamaica.

After not conceding a single goal in the group stages, Spencer helped her country to their first ever knockout stage match in the Women's World Cup.

She said: "From start to finish it was an amazing tournament for us.

"To be in such a culture, to be with so many strong, independent women in the Jamaica side that were all just fighting to do the same thing and we all had the same beliefs and the same characteristics in terms of what we wanted to achieve out there."

After receiving insufficient funding from the Jamaican government, the team were forced to crowdfund their way to the World Cup, receiving £80,000 of public support.

And Spencer said the country had been delighted with their journey at the tournament.

"Going back to Jamaica last month, we felt the love in Jamaica," she said.

Criticism has been rife in recent months after some players were given mere days to rest after the Women's World Cup before being thrown back into pre-season training and matches with their clubs.

Spencer admitted that the transition and the short recovery times had been difficult to overcome.

"It's been really, really tough," she said. "When I came home, I really found it hard to gel back into normal life again. Obviously, you're in a bubble out there for a number of weeks and physically and mentally it takes its toll."

She added that the mental impact of transitioning from such an overwhelming environment back into everyday life had been one of the most difficult parts to deal with.

"I don't think a lot of people really speak about how it feels to come home and try and socialise or be with your family," she said.

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"Obviously you want to come back to be with your family and spend time and obvs they're all proud of you. But I really struggled to even socialise with them and I just felt like I needed to be on my own for a good while," she said.

You can here the full interview with Becky Spencer on The Women's Football Show on Monday 9 October from 7pm-8pm on talkSPORT 2.