Jepson admits players feel responsible for Skinner's Tottenham exit

Interim boss Vicky Jepson claims Tottenham will be "ready for the fight" against Leicester on Wednesday after Rehanne Skinner's departure.

Having suffered a ninth consecutive Women's Super League defeat with Sunday's 2-1 loss at Liverpool, Spurs announced the following day that Skinner, in charge since November 2020, had been sacked. 

The North Londoners are 10th in the table, two points above the rock-bottom Foxes ahead of the contest at Brisbane Road. 

And Jepson, 36, said: "The last 24 hours has been difficult, emotional, for myself, the staff, the players. 

"We all did love Rehanne and she built some fantastic foundations here and professionalised the club to get us to where we are. 

"To see her exit the building yesterday was obviously a tough pill to swallow but every single one of us will be so grateful and we''ll never forget the great things she did at this club. 

"Once we addressed those emotions yesterday and this morning, we had to get the game face on, because we've got a game tomorrow night and the show doesn't stop in football. 

"The motivation now is we've just lost our manager and that's not easy to take. When results aren't going your way there's consequences and it's always the manager that gets hit with those consequences. 

"The girls are feeling responsible for that and they want to put it right. I know they will turn up ready for that fight. 

"We've reflected and actually there's so many positives we can look back on. But we've not got over the line and that's been the problem that [means] sadly we’ve seen our manager exit. 

"It's about going forwards now, not dwelling on the past, because we have to rewrite our future and making sure we stay in the WSL. 

"It's an important game but every one is and no game is easy. We're ready for the fight."

Jepson added: "I spoke to Rehanne when she came out of her meeting yesterday. I spoke to her last night on the phone and we both had a cry together because I don't want to see anybody lose their job.

"I dropped her a message this morning and I'll reach out to her tonight and continue to reach out. It's important we do that when managers exit their roles, to make sure they have support around them."

In Monday’s announcement, Tottenham simply said Jepson, who had been Skinner's assistant, would take the team for the Leicester match. 

Asked what she had been told by the club, the former Liverpool boss said: "For me, if we get the right result tomorrow, which I believe we will, then we can regroup from there. 

"I'm to take them for the game and that's going to be my focus."