Women’s FA Cup final: Tottenham striker Martha Thomas relishing second successive final

While it is Spurs’ first appearance in the FA Cup final, it is the second successive year Thomas has been involved.

She came on as a late substitute for Manchester United in their 1-0 defeat by Chelsea but hopes she will play a more starring role against her former club this time around.

“When I was at Manchester United last year that was the first final they had played in, so that was big at the time,” said Thomas.

“Again, now with Tottenham, we’ve made it to the final and it will obviously be the first year a team other than Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have won it for a long time.

“It’s an exciting spectacle and I’m looking forward to hopefully having a bigger role in it this year than I had last year.”

Thomas has had an impressive season since leaving United, scoring 10 goals in 24 matches for Tottenham, including the winner in the semi-final.

She struggled for regular game time under Marc Skinner, who will lead United at Wembley on Sunday, but Thomas says she did not feel she needed to prove a point upon signing for Spurs.

“I think it was more that I needed to find somewhere I would enjoy playing football again,” said Thomas.

“Towards the end of last season and a lot of times at United, it just wasn’t bringing me the love that I’ve always had for the game. That happens sometimes.

“It just means it maybe wasn’t the right fit. It was important to find somewhere I was motivated to come to training every day, wanted to get the best out of myself, wanted to improve and wanted to fight on the pitch.

“I wanted to be rewarded for that by playing and scoring goals. It wasn’t so much I wanted to prove myself but more about finding the love for the game again.”

You can watch Manchester United v Tottenham in Sunday’s final live on BBC One from 13:50 BST.