'Good Energy In Camp' - Pike Speaks Ahead Of Villa Clash

- LCFC Women entertain Aston Villa at King Power Stadium
- The Foxes lost to Tottenham Hotspur on matchday one
- Molly Pike previews Sunday’s meeting with the Villans
- The midfielder says there is confidence within the squad

The Foxes were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in their Barclays Women’s Super League opener, though Pike revealed in Thursday’s pre-match press conference that the mood in camp is one of optimism and confidence having shown some encouraging signs against the north London side.

With lessons learnt from the Spurs game, City are ready to apply those principles moving forward, as they continue a second successive season in the top flight with another home game on Filbert Way.

“I think all the girls have looked at the game in a positive way,” the England Under-23s international told the media. “Although we lost, the energy and the vibe around the girls and the staff is really good.

In and around training, everyone is really competitive and that’s definitely upped this year. I think it’s become quite easy for the team. The players that we have brought in are fantastic on and off the pitch, so it’s been really easy for the whole team to gel and get together. The girls that have come in have been brilliant.

“We can definitely be more aggressive in how we play, not sit back, but believe in ourselves and be confident on the ball, knowing that we can take a game to teams. Resilience is probably one of the biggest things, just to keep going.

“Our aim at half-time was to win the second half and we did. We can take something from that. Perhaps last season we would have crumbled but the girls had resilience to come back, and we should have got another one.”

Focusing specifically on the challenge of facing Villa at King Power Stadium at the weekend, the former Everton youngster referenced the disappointment of coming away empty handed against Sunday’s opponents last season and the motivations to produce a positive result this time around.

The midfielder continued: “We know we could have got points out of that game and we know we can get points this weekend, so we’ve all just got to keep positive and move forward. We just need to be confident and take the game to them.

“We know we’re good enough and we can do it. The two games last year were very disappointing for us against Villa, so this year we definitely need to take those three points.

“We think we should be getting at least a point from every team in and around us, and we want three. That’s our aim for all games. Anything can happen in football. It’s only 11 vs. 11 players, so put in a good performance and you can win the game.”

The Blue Army’s support last weekend did not go unnoticed among the players, with a crowd of 2,868 roaring the hosts on. It’s a backing that Pike is hoping to take advantage of when the Villans arrive on home soil.

“I love playing at home,” the 21-year-old added. “I think our fans are brilliant. They are nice and loud, and it was great to play in front of them again last week. I’m really excited for that again this week.

“They give us something extra and are like the 12th player on the pitch. They help us, boost our confidence and encourage us when we’re feeling a bit flat. It’s great to see so many more young girls at the game too, which is really nice.”

Tickets can be purchased for Sunday’s WSL encounter, HERE.