PLEASE NOTE: THIS GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO FREEZING CONDITIONS.
Currently sitting bottom of the Barclays Women‘s Super League nine games into the season, attention briefly turns to the Continental Tyres League Cup this week, as the Foxes prepare to meet Sunderland in the North East.
A 7:30pm kick-off at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground on Thursday evening, the away fixture against Barclays Women’s Championship opposition could provide a welcome distraction from City’s league form, as it did in their opening match of the competition – a 3-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers in October.
Moving on from the weekend
Speaking to the media this week, Leicester’s manager discussed the difficulties the team have faced so far this term, compounded by Saturday’s 8-0 loss at the hands of champions and current league leaders Chelsea.
The response, though, has been a positive one, he revealed during Tuesday’s virtual pre-match press conference from Belvoir Drive.
“You would never know what happened on Saturday just happened,” the Scot commented. “The players were at it, training at a really good intensity with really good competitiveness.
“We did a lot of work in terms of building for both games this week, because it’s the same sort of principles going into them, in terms of what we’re trying to do with and without the ball. It was a really positive training session.
“We’ve got a real big focus on us and what we can do to influence the game, how we can be proactive. That’s what we’ve tried to do over the last four weeks. That doesn’t always transpire into a performance on the pitch, but we think, long-term, it will.
“That’s what we’re trying to get to – a long-term level and standard of performance that will get us results between now and the end of the season. We’re building towards that. I believe it’s only a matter of time before we start picking those points up, but everyone is very aware that we need to do so sooner rather than later.”
Wary of the opposition
Sitting 11th in the second-tier table, the Black Cats produced a morale-boosting performance on Sunday, beating Coventry United 5-0 away from home to move seven points clear of the Midlands outfit at the bottom of the Championship.
Kirk commented: “Sunderland proved at the weekend that they are dangerous themselves. They had a really positive result. Emily Scarr got four herself, so their players are going to go into the game fully confident.
“I’m sure Sunderland will relish playing against a WSL team and probably see us as a chance to make a bit of a headline themselves. Every game has got different pressures on it, and this one will be no different.
“Certainly, we want to go and put a performance on, and any win is important right now. A win in any competition can build confidence and give you the platform to go and get a second one. We obviously want to win on Thursday, and we want to win on Sunday.”
Adapting to a busy schedule
The former Everton manager knows the importance of Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool back in the WSL and says the squad are not fazed by having to play that game – a 2pm kick-off at Prenton Park - less than 72 hours after the cup clash at Sunderland.
He explained: “Obviously, there’s a bit of travelling involved, but we’re looking forward to the games this week and having some time away together. A lot of the players have been exposed to three-game weeks in the past.
“They are aware of the physical demands asked of them during these weeks and I don’t think it’s something that phases players. We train at such an intensity now. It’s actually much less of a training load than normal.
“Your distances and high-speed runs covered and accumulated are just spread over different formats really. You’ve just got to be careful in the way you lead into those matches.
“The players love matches, that’s why they are here. They would rather play every day if they could, rather than come in and do training sessions.”
All times GMT.