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Barker: They Are All Big Games

Captain Sophie Barker hopes LCFC Women can head into the winter break on a high note with victory over Birmingham City Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

2021-12-18T12:00:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

18 Dec, 2021

Barker: They Are All Big Games

Captain Sophie Barker hopes LCFC Women can head into the winter break on a high note with victory over Birmingham City Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2021-12-18T12:00:00.000Z

Barker: They Are All Big Games

Captain Sophie Barker hopes LCFC Women can head into the winter break on a high note with victory over Birmingham City Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2021-12-18T12:00:00.000Z

Barker: They Are All Big Games

Captain Sophie Barker hopes LCFC Women can head into the winter break on a high note with victory over Birmingham City Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2021-12-18T12:00:00.000Z

Barker: They Are All Big Games

Captain Sophie Barker hopes LCFC Women can head into the winter break on a high note with victory over Birmingham City Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2021-12-18T12:00:00.000Z

- Sophie Barker looks ahead to LCFC Women’s clash against Birmingham City- The two teams go head-to-head in the WSL at King Power Stadium on Sunday (2pm kick-off)- Barker says the team are aware of the significance of the encounter- The skipper also spoke about manager Lydia Bedford’s influence on the squad

The only two sides yet to pick up a win in the 2021/22 Barclays FA Women’s Super League face off on Filbert Way on Sunday (2pm kick-off), with both aiming to finish the calendar year with a morale-boosting success. Last season's FA Women’s Championship champions would leapfrog the Blues with a victory.

However, Barker highlighted that there is still plenty of football to be played over the season that will impact the final standings.

“I think it comes across as a massive game just because of where we both are in the table,” the Foxes captain told the media during Friday’s press conference.

“But Lydia [Bedford] has reiterated to us a number of times that we still have 11 games to go, and football can go either way really. We don’t want to rule our season by this one game.

“We all know how big it is, we’ve all played big games, but we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket and then not get the result we want, we don’t want it to deflate us. We’re not putting too much pressure on ourselves.

“If you go into every game thinking you’re going to lose, you’re never going to win. We haven’t done that. We’ve seen there’s been upsets here, there and everywhere. There have been performances that wouldn’t be expected.

“We definitely have the players to do that, we just haven’t at this moment in time. I’m hoping this Sunday will trigger us to go into the New Year with a win and a good, positive performance.”

The 30-year-old, one of the most experienced members of LCFC Women’s current squad, described the impact that new manager Lydia Bedford has had on the team in her short time working with the players on the training pitch since taking over at the start of the month.

“It’s been a breath of fresh air, I’ve really enjoyed it,” the former Sheffield United midfielder continued. “She’s come in and not turned the tables upside down, she is working with what she’s got, making subtle changes here and there.

“I think they are really benefitting the team. We are really starting to gel together a lot more. She is doing things very team orientated so it’s allowing us to bond together a little bit more than we were prior to that. It’s been a really good couple of weeks.

“She gives a lot of onus onto players. She is always there to answer questions. Lydia has got a lot of experience with England and girls that are already here. They are learning a lot more from her, which is good.

“She’s really brought that belief in to be fair. Losing a number of games, you can lose that, but she has allowed us to believe that we can get results from games.

“Lydia has worked hard with us over the last couple of weeks and she’s made changes and tweaks and there is now a real belief that we can go and get points from other teams. This group of girls are relentless, they won’t stop, and the positivity is always there.

“We know games are coming that we are going to win. We know results are coming. If we keep working hard, it will happen.”

The postponement of the midweek fixture with Manchester City in the Continental Tyres League Cup has enabled more preparation for the visit of Birmingham, which Barker also hopes will be played in front of another big crowd on Filbert Way.

“It’s allowed us to get in another training session ahead of Sunday, which is an important game for us,” the midfielder explained. “It’s also allowed that recovery time. A couple of the girls who have been injured have been back in training today (Friday).

“It’s allowed Lydia to get the squad numbers up and do a bigger session for us in terms of preparing for games. It’s a welcome break and we're really looking forward to the game on Sunday now.

“They (the fans) are always massively important for us, they have been since the day we started really. They helped us win the league last year, not being here but from the side, and now they can be here, we’ve heard them tirelessly in games, chanting, cheering us on.

“They are like our 12th man. They bring us an uplift when we need it, because at times we are under the cosh and they do bring the belief that we can win games, as well as ourselves. It’s really important to get them down, especially with this game. It will be very entertaining, I have no doubt. I’d love to see everyone there.”

While focusing on their own performance, the Foxes are also aware of threats that Birmingham City will pose, including Barker’s former team-mate Libby Smith, who moved across to the Midlands club in the summer. There is also a new manager at the helm at St. Andrew's, with ex-Blues player Darren Carter taking on the role on an interim basis.

“They are very similar to ourselves,” she added. “They are rugged, they are aggressive. They have obviously had a change in manager. They have picked up one more point than us and they’ve got threats all over the pitch. I think they have just not got their ball rolling really.

“For me, it’s going to be a really tough game. It’s going to be one where physicality is going to be massive, but also the mental side of it, who can hold their nerve, who can keep composed in front of goal when needed, because I think chances will be few and far between.

“It’s going to be a really exciting game too. We haven’t underestimated Birmingham by any stretch of the imagination, because we are very much in the same situation as they are. We are hoping to go out and show what we can do now Lydia has brought a few tweaks in and show that on Sunday.”

Tickets remain available to purchase for Sunday's fixture, HERE.

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