Spurs were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United in front of more than 76,000 fans at Wembley [Pedro Soares/SPP]

SPURS’ dreams of cup glory came to a crushing end against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday, but the message to the thousands who cheered them on at home and in the stadium was simple: Stick with us.

“No one expected us to get to an FA Cup final so I think we’ve proved those people wrong,” said defender Ash Neville in the wake of the 4-0 defeat.

“And I hope this doesn’t stop fans coming down to watch us, because it definitely won’t define us.”

What perhaps does define the club is their history. Yes, Spurs were humbled by an Ella Toone wondergoal, a fine Rachel Williams header and an incisive Lucia Garcia double in front of more than 76,000 fans at Wembley.

Yet even reaching a first major showpiece final can be viewed as an achievement. When this newspaper first covered Spurs 24 years ago, they were competing in the Greater London League on playing fields in Tottenham in front of one man and his dog.

The “Ladies” had already been plying their trade in that amateur league since the mid-1980s, but past generations of players and coaches have since driven the club up the divisions, and in 2019 Spurs finally broke into the top-flight Women’s Super League.

One of their longest serving players, Neville understands better than most the journey the club has been on, and the 31-year-old believes even better days lie ahead under Robert Vilahamn, their head coach since last July.

“Being here at the club for seven years I’ve seen where we’ve come from,” she said.

“To only be in the WSL for a fifth season now and to be in an FA Cup final is incredible. Robert’s come in and set in a style of play here that fits the players and the ambition of what the club wants and I’m excited to see what next season brings.”

Spurs, who look set for a sixth-place WSL finish this term, will see the season out at 3pm on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against former manager Rehanne Skinner and West Ham.

And while Swede Vilahamn was clearly disappointed to lose the cup final, he also hopes the rising number of Spurs fans will continue to follow his team.

“We play for [the fans] and I’m very sad we couldn’t win for them,” he said.

“I really wanted to give them the trophy, so I hope they come on Saturday, and hopefully next season they can be with us at even more games. We’re going to keep growing.”