Tottenham sack Rehanne Skinner after ninth consecutive WSL defeat

Tottenham have sacked head coach Rehanne Skinner the day after a ninth consecutive WSL defeat that has pushed them alarmingly close to the relegation zone.

Assistant coach Vicky Jepson, who has managed in the WSL with Liverpool, has been temporarily placed in charge of the team ahead of a huge relegation ‘six-pointer’ against Leicester this week.

Having previously managed at Leicester and later becoming an assistant with Arsenal and the England junior setup, Skinner was appointed in November 2020.

She steered Spurs away from the danger of relegation that season and then oversaw an impressive fifth place finish in her first full campaign at the helm.

But following a promising start to 2022/23 that yielded three wins from their opening five WSL games – including an 8-0 win over Brighton in October, things have quickly turned south.

Spurs have lost all nine league games they have played since that thrashing of the Seagulls, with Sunday’s defeat to Liverpool leaving them only two points off the bottom of the table and increasingly at risk of relegation to the Championship.

The club had brought in a mixture of experienced WSL veterans and young overseas talent in a bid to press on from last season. They also set a new record for a transfer between WSL sides with the £250,000 January purchase of Bethany England from Chelsea.

“Since joining us in 2020, Rehanne has played an integral role in our development in the women’s game, both on and off the field,” said Andy Rogers, managing director of Tottenham Women.

“She has carried out her duties with the utmost professionalism and attention to detail, and we should like to thank her for everything she has done for us over the course of her tenure.”