Tottenham interim head coach Vicky Jepson believes Bethany England should be on the plane to Australia and New Zealand for this summer's World Cup, but also highlighted how the team around the forward have helped her thrive in recent weeks.
The 28-year-old joined the Lilywhites from Chelsea in January in a bid to increase her game time with the summer tournament just months away. Since joining Spurs, she's made a significant impact and England's two goals in the 4-1 win against Reading on Saturday helped secure their WSL status for another season.
Jepson, who temporarily took charge following the departure of Rehanne Skinner in March, is pleased to have avoided relegation given it was a real threat only a matter of months ago.
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"I'm over the moon," she said after the win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. "Personally, the task was to keep us in the WSL. That task is complete now so we can enjoy that, but we still have one game left to play.
"We certainly don't want to be complacent going into that away at West Ham."
Key to Spurs' revival has been the growing influence of England. However, Jepson was keen to highlight the importance of the team performing around her to ensure they get the best out of their star forward.
The interim boss continued: "It's not just Beth, you've got to create opportunities for her to finish. I think it's the team, we've had consistency. One thing that I really wanted to do was make things simple and specific.
"Stick to one formation, which we have done. Four, three, three throughout the eight games that were left. From that, we've created more opportunities in front of goal.
"When you create more opportunities for a finisher like Beth, nine times out of 10 she'll finish them. I'm absolutely delighted with the opportunities she's put away and then there's one or two she's just pulled out of nowhere!
"The goal against Leicester and the goal against Manchester United. Those are moments of individual brilliance she's come up with but the rest have been provided by her teammates that have done a fantastic job in serving our fantastic nine."
With England manager Sarina Wiegman set to announce her World Cup squad in the coming weeks, question marks still remain over who will be selected up front. There is a solid case for England to be selected and Jepson believes she should be.
"I do think she should be going to the World Cup," she added. "I'm not going to tell Sarina how to do her job, it's up to her.
"She's a top English goalscorer in the WSL. For me, why would you not want to her her in your team."
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