We Failed To Do The Basics, Says Kirk
- LCFC Women were beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa in the Barclays Women's Super League
- Rachel Daly, Alisha Lehmann and Kenza Dali scored the goals at Villa Park
- The manager says the fundamentals went wrong in the City camp
- Up next for the Foxes is a meeting with Reading at King Power Stadium on Sunday
It was a difficult weekend for the Foxes, who were beaten at Villa Park by a side currently fifth in the WSL. Lioness Rachel Daly and winger Alisha Lehmann both scored two for the Villans, while the manager was left pondering where it went wrong.
After a decent first-half display that arguably deserved more for City, the lack of cutting edge took its toll, and Kirk shared his thoughts with LCFC TV following the full-time whistle.
"It's something that's probably best left until tomorrow," the manager admitted. "We'll clear our mind and try to not get too emotional about it. To have more shots and more possession but lose 5-0 shows that it was the fundamentals that went wrong.
"There were elements of the first half that I thought were good but, we failed to do the basics. I don't know whether there was a lack of belief, but we need to find a way to live with that pressure that's on us, and turn it into a good thing, because some of the basics let us down today and that was the most frustrating thing.
"The third and fourth goals were both killers. I thought we started the second half quite brightly, in terms of the changes we asked them to make, and you never know, at 3-0 there's still a chance. A goal for us puts the pressure on Villa but the fourth killed us off."
Trying to get missed chances out of their mind as quickly as possible is a necessity for Leicester, who now must focus on a crucial WSL match against Reading at King Power Stadium this weekend (3pm BST kick-off), which the manager describes as nothing less than a must-win game, and stated that his side must learn to embrace the pressure currently placed on them.
"I don't think tactically or technically there are massive problems," the 44-year-old added. "But we seemed to be a yard off of it, and if it's the pressure that is taking up some of our energy reserves then we need to find a way to deal with it better.
"We've got to pick up points next week, there's no other way around it. It's a must win game, and if we don't win it, then our challenge becomes very difficult."