Bethany England played in three FA Cup finals with her former club Chelsea [Alexander Canillas/SPP]

SPURS are on their way to Wembley on Sunday – and captain Bethany England hopes they can buck a recent trend to bring the cup back to north London.

Robert Vilahamn’s players made history last month when Martha Thomas’s extra-time winner against Leicester City sent Tottenham into their first-ever Women’s FA Cup final.

Now Spurs are gearing up to face last year’s losing finalists Manchester United in the sold-out showpiece, but they do so having had to come back from behind in each of their last four outings.

England has played her part in those revivals, scoring equalisers in Women’s Super League draws to Brighton, Manchester United and Everton.

But having experienced one losing and two winning FA Cup finals with her former club Chelsea, the 29-year-old knows Spurs need to come straight out of the blocks at Wembley.

“We’ve shown such great qualities in the last few games that we’ve had,” she said. “The most disappointing thing for us is that we’re always chasing. We’re always having to go one or two-nil down and having to catch up again. I want us to be a team where we’re the ones going in front and we’re keeping that lead.

“Going against a team like Man Utd on such a big pitch at Wembley, that [comeback] can’t always happen and we have to be prepared for that and make sure that from the off we are ready for it.”

Historically, the team that has scored first in 23 of the last 25 Women’s FA Cup finals has gone on to win the trophy.

But Vilahamn hopes his finalists can take heart from last weekend’s performance, when goals from Drew Spence and England saw Spurs bounce back from 2-0 down to grab a point away to Everton.

“Self-confidence is a very big thing for footballers,” he said. “We feel we can bring on players, create chances and come back from setbacks. It’s a good thing for the next week. It shows a really good character to come back.”

Having finished as runner-up in the Swedish Cup for the last two seasons with former side BK Hacken, Vilahamn is clearly no stranger to the pressures a final can bring – but the Spurs boss seems determined to make the most of every minute ahead of the big day.

“It’s going to be the best week,” he added. “We’re just going to enjoy it, prepare and really go there and try to win the title for Tottenham.”

The match on Sunday kicks off at 2.30pm and will be live on BBC One.