Kirk: The Team Is Coming Together

Next Match | Saturday 2 May Sat 2 May

BLB

(A)

06 D

20 H

23 M

35 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

Kirk: The Team Is Coming Together

Manager Willie Kirk says that Belvoir Drive is buzzing once again now that LCFC Women are back in for pre-season.

2023-08-18T10:35:00.000Z

by Matthew Temple

Published

18 Aug, 2023

Kirk: The Team Is Coming Together

Manager Willie Kirk says that Belvoir Drive is buzzing once again now that LCFC Women are back in for pre-season.

Matthew Temple

2023-08-18T10:35:00.000Z

Kirk: The Team Is Coming Together

Manager Willie Kirk says that Belvoir Drive is buzzing once again now that LCFC Women are back in for pre-season.

Matthew Temple

2023-08-18T10:35:00.000Z

Kirk: The Team Is Coming Together

Manager Willie Kirk says that Belvoir Drive is buzzing once again now that LCFC Women are back in for pre-season.

Matthew Temple

2023-08-18T10:35:00.000Z

Kirk: The Team Is Coming Together

Manager Willie Kirk says that Belvoir Drive is buzzing once again now that LCFC Women are back in for pre-season.

Matthew Temple

2023-08-18T10:35:00.000Z

- LCFC Women are in pre-season training at Belvoir Drive- The Foxes have added four new faces to the squad- City commence their Barclays Women’s Super League campaign on 1 October- Willie Kirk’s side will face Bristol City at Ashton Gate

It has been four weeks since the Foxes began pre-season, and over that time City have going through plenty of physical testing to prepare themselves for a third consecutive season in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, we caught up with the Manager, who gave us on update on the squad, and what training has looked like since the players’ return to Belvoir Drive.

“The team is coming together,” Kirk said. “We’re getting numbers back in, getting players back from the Women's World Cup, and we’re working on our physical conditioning but also our principles of play which is going well.

“It’s great to have the players back – anyone coming in can see the buzz that they generate around the training ground. You want energy around the place, and that’s what we’ve got.

“We’ve got a balance between our new players, our retained players, but also with different age groups as well. It’s a positive place to be right now.”

Included in the squad that were retained from last season, four new faces have begun life in the East Midlands, along with Courtney Nevin and Janina Leitzig, who made their move to Leicestershire permanent after successful loan spells.

“New players always freshen things up, from an environment point of view,” the 44-year-old told us. “It’s always good to see that, and the aim is to really freshen the group up after the last two seasons that we’ve had.

“Any manager will say that when you take over mid-way through a season, that it’s about getting through that season and then getting to work in the off-season, which is a really important time, especially considering what we’ve done with recruitment.

“I don’t think that normally you feel that as quickly, as it’s only been two transfer windows, but it already feels like my squad, and I’m really comfortable with that, and now it’s about pushing on.

“It does give you some extra confidence and you know that the players in the squad are here for a reason, in terms of their style of play, positional attributes, and the characters they are, and we’re happy with the ones that we’ve added so far.”

Taking the reins in November of last year, the former Bristol City manager guided Leicester to WSL safety and the Club’s highest-ever finish in the top division after beating Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 on the final day.

Now gearing up for the first game of the season, when he meets his former employers at Ashton Gate, the manager was keeping his cards close to his chest, but says that they will be looking to improve on last season and hope to make May a less stressful month this time around.

“I’m very confident with achieving our goals that we’ve set for this upcoming season - I set them with confidence,” he continued. “Our targets, like last year, will be kept internal and within the group, in terms of what we want to achieve and any points targets.

“I certainly think it’s going to be an exciting season for Foxes fans and hopefully an exciting way of playing that is about us, and not the opposition that we face.

“Hopefully that all comes together the way we want and will place us in a good position in the league, rather than fighting for survival into the last game of the season.”

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.

1 Hour 6 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.

7 Hours 51 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.

18 Hours 1 Min Ago

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.

18 Hours 36 Mins Ago