Morgan: Developing A Philosophy Is Important
- LCFC Women come up against Manchester United in the WSL at King Power Stadium on Sunday
- Supporters are set to watch a LCFC Women home game for the first time in over 18 months
- Manager Jonathan Morgan previewed the highly-anticipated encounter in his press conference
- He told the media how the players have been preparing for one of the division's leading teams
Manchester United will be the first visitors to King Power Stadium in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday afternoon (2pm kick-off), for City’s opening home fixture in the top-flight.
Speaking in Thursday’s virtual pre-match press conference at Belvoir Drive, Morgan expressed how encouraging the players’ response to last weekend’s defeat to Aston Villa has been.
He told the media: “Our girls have been fantastic, they’ve got a great bouncebackability. They came back in, went through the Villa game and put it to bed.
“The one thing I learnt about our girls straightaway is that, yes, we lost, but they showed tremendous amounts of accountability behind the scenes as a team and also on the pitch. We go again, forget what happened.
“We’ve come through it, had a fantastic week of training and worked really hard. The girls have been in great moods and are truly excited for Sunday. For me, that’s a testament to them as people and the strength they have within.
"The most important thing is that we stick together through the tough times as well as the good. But it’s the tough times that will make us a stronger team, make us a better team and make our culture that little bit more solid. We’ve done that.
“We’re now looking forward to Man Utd and our first WSL game at King Power Stadium this season. Hopefully we can make everyone proud and get three points.”
United have achieved back-to-back fourth place finishes in their first two WSL seasons and began a new era under former Birmingham City head coach Marc Skinner with a 2-0 victory over Reading last week.
Assessing the threats posed by Sunday’s opponents, LCFC Women’s manager is expecting a different test to the one they faced in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Fifth Round back in May, when the Foxes emerged as 3-2 victors.
“They’ve brought Marc Skinner in,” Morgan continued. “He’s going to be implementing different styles and different ways of playing to what they did under Casey [Stoney], but they’re a fantastic team.
“They’ve got a solid foundation and platform. This is their third season in the WSL. We’re playing a team that are very strong in possession and they have a very set and distinct style of play.
“We want to make sure that we don’t give them too much time and space on the ball really. We go in there to compete and work as hard as we can for 90 minutes.”
Welcoming home supporters back for the first time since turning professional, Morgan is expecting a special day and atmosphere on Filbert Way, but also outlined the need for focus on the pitch.
“I’ll be honest, I can’t remember what it feels like (to have fans present), it’s been such a long time now,” he admitted. “I think the fact that we’re playing at King Power Stadium and have Leicester City fans and the people of Leicester there, hopefully we can get a big turnout.
“But it’s just a truly historic occasion to have LCFC Women playing on that pitch in a competitive WSL game for the first time ever. We’re going to truly enjoy it. We’re going to really soak in the atmosphere and use that to our benefit and hopefully make the crowd the 12th man, that’s the plan.
“We want the fans to be loud, to be boisterous, we want them to enjoy the occasion. Lots of young kids just chanting out the names of the players. Come to be a part of history with this team.
“It’s something that’s we’re going to relish and will stay in the minds of all the players and myself as well as the staff for quite a while.
“The most important part for us is to get three points. It’s also our responsibility to make it an enjoyable day for the fans and that’s by playing attractive football, by playing an enjoyable style of football, which we are trying to do.
“Hopefully we showed that in our first game against Aston Villa. But that responsibility lies solely on myself and the players don’t have to feel that. They just have to come into the stadium and take in the atmosphere and we’ll make sure they’re ready for the game to make the fans, the Club and the city proud.”