‘Find The Right Pressure Points’ – Kirk’s Reading Preview

Next Match | Friday 24 April Fri 24 Apr

MIL

(H)

00 D

22 H

46 M

28 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

‘Find The Right Pressure Points’ – Kirk’s Reading Preview

Willie Kirk says LCFC Women are aware of the enormity of their next fixture, as they bid to move off the foot of the Barclays Women’s Super League.

2023-04-02T07:10:51.640Z

by Sam Jones

Published

02 Apr, 2023

‘Find The Right Pressure Points’ – Kirk’s Reading Preview

Willie Kirk says LCFC Women are aware of the enormity of their next fixture, as they bid to move off the foot of the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Sam Jones

2023-04-02T07:10:51.640Z

‘Find The Right Pressure Points’ – Kirk’s Reading Preview

Willie Kirk says LCFC Women are aware of the enormity of their next fixture, as they bid to move off the foot of the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Sam Jones

2023-04-02T07:10:51.640Z

‘Find The Right Pressure Points’ – Kirk’s Reading Preview

Willie Kirk says LCFC Women are aware of the enormity of their next fixture, as they bid to move off the foot of the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Sam Jones

2023-04-02T07:10:51.640Z

‘Find The Right Pressure Points’ – Kirk’s Reading Preview

Willie Kirk says LCFC Women are aware of the enormity of their next fixture, as they bid to move off the foot of the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Sam Jones

2023-04-02T07:10:51.640Z

The Foxes head into the clash with Reading – a 3pm kick-off at King Power Stadium on Sunday - knowing that three points would lift the team up into 11th position, following Brighton & Hove Albion’s defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.

Speaking to the media prior to that result – during Friday’s pre-match press conference at Belvoir Drive – City’s manager gave his assessment of the previous game and what he is looking for in this weekend’s performance.

Moving on from recent results

A tough afternoon at Villa Park on Women’s Football Weekend saw Leicester beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa, remaining bottom of the WSL as a consequence. Analysing both the positive and negative aspects of the display allowed City to enter the following week with a fresh perspective.

Kirk told the press: “It was really just about getting basics done (in training), making sure we do them very well, or as well as we can, because I think that’s what let us down (against Villa). When we actually analyse the performance, there were parts that were good in terms of final third entries and possession.

“We’ve only out-possessed a team three times this season and two of those have been the last two games. We want to try and control games better with the ball. I think we’ve managed that on occasion, especially against Spurs and Villa.

“In terms of our ball retention, it’s certainly improved. But what we do with it, still has to improve. For us, the turnovers become really important and how effective we are in transitioning to defend. We weren’t very effective with that last weekend and Villa caught us a number of times.

“We had a really honest and frank discussion about it the day after. We addressed a few things, had some difficult conversations and the players addressed a few things as well within their own group.

“It’s really important that they take ownership of that. It was a good chat and when we came back, we got past it and started the week with new vigour and new enthusiasm.

“We’ve had a fantastic reaction. We’re just off the pitch and training was at a really high intensity, so I think that suggests the players know how important this game is.”

In the fight

The players must become accustomed to dealing with the pressure that comes with the position they find themselves in, Kirk says, but knows they have enough experience within the squad to battle on through adversity.

The 44-year-old explained: “We want this group of players to be energised by it and understand that we’re playing at the top level of the game and the pressure is a good thing, because without pressure, it wouldn’t matter. Everybody wants to be in the WSL. They are fighting for their places to remain at the Club, not just in the WSL.

“There are a lot of positives that come with that pressure. It’s about trying to identify them and using them to give us energy, rather than take our energy away. Pressure can be debilitating as well. It’s about how we find the right pressure points to energise us rather than kill us.

“It’s new for some of us but there are enough players in this squad who have been through successful relegation battles and come out the other end. All I’m doing is really focusing on us and finding energy reserves to battle through it.

“The players deserve huge credit. It’s only a few weeks ago that we were six points from safety. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position now. It’s about using that to our advantage and taking points on Sunday. At the very least, closing the gap on Reading and the teams above.

“The more teams involved, the better for us. We missed that opportunity against Spurs, which we were kicking ourselves about. Any victory for the team at the bottom of the league starts dragging teams in above them. But we just concentrate on the three points and if that drags teams down, all the better for us.

“There are elements which are out of our control. What we have to recognise is that the most important time to be off the bottom of the league is at the end of the season, and that’s what the focus is. But if we can do that before, it would give the players a big boost. We’ll use that as another motivation.

“There’s no point in us pretending it’s not a big game, but it’s one of six big games in front of us. The only one in our control just now is on Sunday. We’ve made it very clear to the players since the turn of the year that the next game is always the biggest game. We work all week towards that.”

Reading analysis

The Royals may have triumphed on both previous encounter this season, but since their Vitality Women’s FA Cup win over the Foxes at Pirelli Stadium, have claimed a league victory on just one occasion, losing twice and drawing once – coming from 2-0 goals down against Brighton.

“They’ve got huge character and they’ve certainly got a mentality that they are never beaten, they never ever give up,” Kirk commented on Kelly Chambers’ side, who sit two points above the relegation zone. “And that’s huge credit to them. That’s the mindset that they have and the attitude that they take into the game.

“They showed that against us in the FA Cup and in the WSL. We need to make sure that if they try to show that again on Sunday, that we’re in control of the game by that point and it’s beyond them coming back.

“They’ve certainly given themselves a lot of belief and that’s happened time and time again. We’ve got to respect that and understand how to turn it into our advantage.”

Back home

A return to playing in front of City’s supporters for the first time since a goalless draw with Everton last month, Kirk hopes it will provide a welcome boost to hear that support from the stands.

“The players enjoy playing there, they feel at home now,” the Scotsman said. “I feel that’s really important. It’s coming to the end of our first full season where every league game is there. The Club do a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure that’s the case.

“We know we’ve got three winnable games coming up at King Power Stadium and we’ll be trying to win all three of them and give ourselves a much more favourable home record going into the end of the season.

“There’s always a lively and energised fan following and obviously we hope to get as many numbers through the door as possible, because it does give the players energy and they do understand how much the fans care and that rubs off onto them. That’s another example of positive pressure.”

Match tickets remain available to purchase online up until 12pm on Sunday.

All times BST.

LATEST HEADLINES

PL2 Play-Offs Explained As Last-16 Opponents Revealed City’s Under-21s side have reached the Premier League 2 Play-Offs, where we will face Tottenham Hotspur away tomorrow (7pm kick-off).

4 Hours 16 Mins Ago

Live Coverage Of Millwall Clash Foxes Hub will provide a live stream of City's Sky Bet Championship fixture against Millwall, with audio and video available depending on your location.

4 Hours 48 Mins Ago

James ‘Unlikely To Start’ Against Millwall, Says Rowett Gary Rowett provided an update on Jordan James after the midfielder limped off in our 2-2 draw with Hull City on Tuesday.

6 Hours 23 Mins Ago

Fan Zone Open Ahead Of Millwall Game Our Fan Zone will be open on Friday night ahead of our Sky Bet Championship fixture against Millwall at King Power Stadium.

9 Hours 43 Mins Ago