Maintaining Momentum & Adding Competitiveness – Bedford Assesses Reading Challenge

Next Match | Saturday 2 May Sat 2 May

BLB

(A)

00 D

14 H

17 M

41 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

Maintaining Momentum & Adding Competitiveness – Bedford Assesses Reading Challenge

A month on from her appointment as LCFC Women manager, Lydia Bedford is preparing to take on the first test of 2022.

2022-01-09T10:33:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

09 Jan, 2022

Maintaining Momentum & Adding Competitiveness – Bedford Assesses Reading Challenge

A month on from her appointment as LCFC Women manager, Lydia Bedford is preparing to take on the first test of 2022.

Sam Jones

2022-01-09T10:33:00.000Z

Maintaining Momentum & Adding Competitiveness – Bedford Assesses Reading Challenge

A month on from her appointment as LCFC Women manager, Lydia Bedford is preparing to take on the first test of 2022.

Sam Jones

2022-01-09T10:33:00.000Z

Maintaining Momentum & Adding Competitiveness – Bedford Assesses Reading Challenge

A month on from her appointment as LCFC Women manager, Lydia Bedford is preparing to take on the first test of 2022.

Sam Jones

2022-01-09T10:33:00.000Z

Maintaining Momentum & Adding Competitiveness – Bedford Assesses Reading Challenge

A month on from her appointment as LCFC Women manager, Lydia Bedford is preparing to take on the first test of 2022.

Sam Jones

2022-01-09T10:33:00.000Z

- LCFC Women meet Reading in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League this weekend- Lydia Bedford spoke to the media to preview Sunday’s 2pm GMT kick-off in Berkshire- The Foxes have trained well all week despite disruption to the programme, Bedford says- Although identifying Reading as a tough place to go, she is confident in the group’s abilities

Reading – the in-form team in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League prior to the festive period – await on Sunday as the Foxes look to get off to a positive start in 2022, themselves buoyed by pre-Christmas events.

Recording a 2-0 success over Birmingham City at King Power Stadium put Leicester’s first top-flight points on the board, lifting Bedford’ charges above the Blues and out of the relegation spot. As she explained in Friday’s afternoon’s virtual pre-match press conference, the team have continued to show the same focus in preparation for the next challenge.

While several players are unavailable for selection due to long-term injuries and COVID-19, City have acquired exciting young talents Missy Goodwin and Freya Gregory, and both are in contention to feature at the weekend.

“There’s a real energy,” Bedford told the media. “One of the things we said to them when we first came in is that we wanted energy, tempo and composure in every training session and they’ve not wavered from that.

“We had a point this week where the numbers dropped reasonably low on Wednesday, but even with the players we had out there, the intensity remained really high. They are still riding the wave of what they felt in that Birmingham game and they are still confident.

“The additional players will just raise the competitiveness within the squad and help us to maintain momentum going across the next few games. So, I think they are in a good place and adding players like Missy and Freya to training this week has added another competitive dimension to what they are doing.”

Looking across the coming month as a whole, which involves five fixtures in three competitions, Bedford believes the Foxes are in a good place to face the busy period head on after a short break over Christmas and put in performances that will lead to success.

She explained: “I think if we’d have tried to continue the week after the Birmingham game, the girls would have been on a real high and the focus might have wavered a little bit. Giving them the break was really important.

“I really believe that time with their family and friends over Christmas is really important to recoup and refocus and from the moment they re-joined us the Tuesday after Christmas, the intensity and output at training was 10 out of 10.

“I don’t think the break has caused any problems in that sense, they are raring to go, they are really up for January, and this is a month that obviously we’ll work hard in to try and pick up points across the different games we’re involved in.

“No one game is going to define our season and we’ve got to control what we can in every given game. What the girls will experience from me is a very similar approach to every single game that we play this season in terms of our preparation and our expectations going into it.

“We’re not going to turn up to any fixture not expecting to try and get three points. But clearly, it’s about climbing the table and adding points where we can. So, for each of those games we’ll be as best prepared as we can be.

“I’m confident that with the feeling among the girls right now, if we can give them the right preparation going into the game, we will be competitive in each one of those fixtures.”

After a tricky start of their own, the Royals have quickly moved into a rhythm, rising up to eighth in the standings by collecting 13 points from a possible 15 since mid-October.

In the opposition dugout at Select Car Leasing Stadium will be a manager that Bedford knows well, and she was full of praise for Kelly Chambers’ work in establishing the Berkshire outfit as a force to be reckoned with in the WSL.

“Kelly is a fantastic coach and has gained a lot of experience at Reading over the last few years. I remember back when she was a player, I was at Barnet when she was at Reading. She’s had a fantastic career in the game and has done a great job at Reading.

“When you look at their last five games, four wins and one draw speaks for itself. It shows where they are at as a group and I’m sure they will be wanting to maintain that form in the new year. They are very good at coming back into games when they go behind, all those types of things.

“They are always a tough team to play against, I’ve spoken to many coaches in the past when they are preparing for a Reading game and they’ve got a real style of play and a real grittiness to their team and how they play. They’ll be ready this weekend and it’ll be a really competitive fixture.”

LATEST HEADLINES

Ricardo Pereira To Leave Leicester City At End Of Season Leicester City captain Ricardo Pereira will play his final match for us on Saturday 2 May, bringing to an end a Foxes career spanning eight seasons and over 200 matches.

5 Hours 13 Mins Ago

LCFC Women vs. Chelsea - Tickets & Coverage Details Tickets for our final home game of the Barclays Women's Super League season are still available for Sunday afternoon, when we welcome Chelsea to King Power Stadium.

10 Hours 12 Mins Ago

Passmoor's Squad Update Ahead Of Chelsea Women Rick Passmoor shared a squad update with the media heading into our final home game of the season this Sunday afternoon against Chelsea (2:30pm BST kick-off).

10 Hours 12 Mins Ago

We're Really Disappointed, Says Neville Frustrated to concede seven to Arsenal in midweek, Ashleigh Neville believes this LCFC Women team has what it takes to win the play-off game and stay in the division.

13 Hours 12 Mins Ago