Tottenham striker bidding to 'break down barriers' ahead of Manchester United showdown

When Martha Thomas steps out under the Wembley arch this weekend, it will be the second time in as many years she has starred in an FA Cup final.

But while she took to the pitch last season as a Manchester United player, coming on as a late substitute as Marc Skinner's side were narrowly beaten by Chelsea, this term she will be facing off against her former club and hoping to guideTottenham Hotspur to their first major trophy.

"It’s something that’s obviously been asked a lot and I think the best way for me to explain it is we want to lift the trophy regardless of who we’re playing against," Thomas tells football.london and other selected media when quizzed on the prospect of coming back to haunt United.

«I don’t have a vendetta or anything. I’ve got a lot of good friends on that team and had a lot of great times there but this is football and you see good friends competing all the time domestically and internationally. The beauty of football is that you can switch all of that off and it’s just 11 vs 11 on the pitch and I’m just hoping we’ll be able to get over the line and win a trophy for the club.»

Certainly, lifting some silverware this weekend would be the perfect way to cap off an impressive individual campaign for Thomas, who left United for Tottenham last summer. After a challenging spell at Leigh Sports Village, where she started just one game last term, the Scotland international has excelled in north London and was named the Women's Super League (WSL) Player of the Month for October after scoring six times in the Spurs' first four league games.

She created further history by scoring the winner against Arsenal to hand Tottenham their first ever WSL win over their bitter rivals back in December and it was her