Kirk Previews ‘Big Challenge’ Against Liverpool

Next Match | Saturday 2 May Sat 2 May

BLB

(A)

06 D

07 H

10 M

47 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

Kirk Previews ‘Big Challenge’ Against Liverpool

LCFC Women have won their last three meetings against Liverpool, but Manager Willie Kirk expects nothing less than a tough match this weekend at Prenton Park.

2023-11-05T08:57:00.000Z

by Matthew Temple

Published

05 Nov, 2023

Kirk Previews ‘Big Challenge’ Against Liverpool

LCFC Women have won their last three meetings against Liverpool, but Manager Willie Kirk expects nothing less than a tough match this weekend at Prenton Park.

Matthew Temple

2023-11-05T08:57:00.000Z

Kirk Previews ‘Big Challenge’ Against Liverpool

LCFC Women have won their last three meetings against Liverpool, but Manager Willie Kirk expects nothing less than a tough match this weekend at Prenton Park.

Matthew Temple

2023-11-05T08:57:00.000Z

Kirk Previews ‘Big Challenge’ Against Liverpool

LCFC Women have won their last three meetings against Liverpool, but Manager Willie Kirk expects nothing less than a tough match this weekend at Prenton Park.

Matthew Temple

2023-11-05T08:57:00.000Z

Kirk Previews ‘Big Challenge’ Against Liverpool

LCFC Women have won their last three meetings against Liverpool, but Manager Willie Kirk expects nothing less than a tough match this weekend at Prenton Park.

Matthew Temple

2023-11-05T08:57:00.000Z

This week sees the Foxes return to Barclays Women’s Super League, and they will be hoping to carry on the form that they had in the first month of the season; winning three and drawing one in the first five games.

Ahead of Sunday’s fixture, he is the main talking points from Kirk’s press conference at Belvoir Drive…

Options in forward positions

The Foxes have netted eight goals this season, through five different goalscorers, and the Manager shared his valuation of the forwards at his disposal, but was keen to comment on Jutta Rantala’s best position for the Club.

“We’ve got lots of forwards,” Kirk stated. “People still think Jutta [Rantala] is a forward but I see her as more of a technician in midfield. She might play in the front three for us as some point, but I see her as a midfielder with the quality of forwards we have.

“If you look at the Man City game, we finished with a front five of Jutta, Missy [Goodwin], Deanne [Rose], Hannah [Cain], and Lena [Petermann]. So that shows you the options we’ve got.

“Shannon [O’Brien] and Aileen [Whelan] got taken off in that game and we’ve still got Remy [Siemsen] to come back so there’s good, exciting options. We’ve got different types of forwards and that gives us good variations in our play and tactical options.”

Janice Cayman's versatility

This summer saw the arrival of Belgium’s most-capped player Janice Cayman, to Belvoir Drive. The decorated player, who has won the UEFA Women’s Champions League twice with Olympique Lyon, has been deployed in several positions this season, and the former Everton manager believes her flexibility has both positive and negative effects for the player.

He added: “I’ve just had a conversation with Janice [Cayman], and one of the biggest benefits of her game is her flexibility, but it’s also a draw back for her, as she’s not got a position yet, because she can play in so many different roles.

“The places she’s played this season is like: ‘we’ll slot her in here’, and that sounds she is just there to fill a gap but is a compliment because she’s so competent in several positions.

“We’d like her to get more aggressive in possession, because sometimes you have to force a mistake rather than waiting for it to happen in France, but she’ll be deployed wherever we think she is best placed in each game.”

Facing Liverpool

Kirk has never lost to current Liverpool manager Matt Beard, as City have been victorious in their last three outings against the Reds. Recording a record 4-0 victory last term in the WSL and more recently beat them 2-1 in the Continental Tyres League Cup.

Despite an impressive record against the Merseyside club, the 45-year-old knows that the top flight of English football offers no easy contest, and that his side must be ready if they are to take points from Prenton Park.

“A few people have mentioned that I’ve got a really good record against Matt [Beard], and we’ve won the last three against them,” Kirk commented. “But we know history doesn’t matter – it doesn’t matter what’s happened before, it’s about focusing on what’s in front of us.

“People can talk about recent results or records, but in the WSL, every match needs to be taken seriously. It’s a tough game, they’re a big club, and it’s obvious where they’re trying to get too.

“They’ll pose a big challenge, and I’m not sure if they’ll break into the top four, but they're looking to get there and that shows what big a challenge it will be. To go there and get three points would be difficult, but it’s what we’ll be setting out to do.”

LATEST HEADLINES

‘We’ve Got Four Cup Finals’ – Passmoor Previews Final Run-In Following an extended international break, LCFC Women return to Barclays WSL action this weekend against London City Lionesses, which is the first of four games remaining this term.

14 Hours 19 Mins Ago

Rowett’s Millwall Assessment Gary Rowett provided his reaction after our 1-1 draw with Millwall in our final King Power Stadium outing of the season on Friday night.

21 Hours 4 Mins Ago

City Draw With Millwall On Filbert Way We drew 1-1 with Millwall in Friday’s night’s Sky Bet Championship fixture at King Power Stadium.

24 Apr, 2026

PL2 Play-Offs Defeat For City's U21s Our Under-21s concluded their 25/26 Premier League 2 campaign with a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the Play-Offs Round of 16.

24 Apr, 2026