Purfield: It’s All Coming Together For Us
- LCFC Women’s Jemma Purfield speaks after the latest pre-season friendly
- The Foxes defeated Southampton 1-0 at Belvoir Drive on Sunday
- Sam Tierney’s goal separated the sides as WSL preparations continue
- The hard work on the training pitch is a key to success, says Purfield
Speaking after a 1-0 win over Southampton on Sunday afternoon, in which Sam Tierney’s goal secured victory against the Barclays Women’s Championship side at Belvoir Drive, Purfield felt it was another beneficial runout for the squad.
With four new faces added and plenty of WSL experience in the side, it is now all about refining their chemistry on the pitch, while taking on board new tactics from manager Lydia Bedford and the coaching staff.
The defender commented to LCFC TV: “I think it was really good for the team to get another 90-minute game under our belts, to get a win and just to feel a bit more confident in the patterns that we’re playing and the style that we’re playing.
“I think we’re really starting to gel as a group now so it’s exciting to see everything coming together. It’s a big part of pre-season – integrating the new players with the old and making sure that we’re all on the same page going into the season.
“I think we’re now heading in the right direction with that and it’s exciting moving forward.”
The full-back also explained the significance of the pre-season schedule as preparations build up ahead of the new Barclays Women’s Super League campaign, which kicks off for the Foxes away to Everton on 11 September (1pm BST kick-off).
Before then, Leicester host Reading in their next behind-closed-doors friendly encounter on Saturday, before tackling Brighton & Hove Albion at Belvoir Drive a week later.
“It’s really important,” she continued. “We’ve got a couple of games against WSL teams coming up at home so it’s going to be big for us to really test ourselves and show what we can do and make sure that going into the season, we’ve got that winning mentality and we’re ready to compete, week in, week out.
“I think it’s really competitive, which is good. The intensity is good and it’s just exciting. We’ve got a much more in-depth squad than we had before and it’s really good that we can challenge each other and push each other every day.”
The former Liverpool star captained City for the first time at the weekend and took great pride in being handed the leadership role.
After making a big impression during her first term as a Leicester player, scoring twice in the league and providing three assists, she is hoping for more of the same in 2022/23.
The 25-year-old added: “It was a really proud moment, it’s a great football club and I love the Club, love the girls, so it was really nice for me to lead the team out.
“I just want to kick on from last season and help the team wherever I can, whether that’s with goals, assists or defending and clearing balls out of the box. Whatever I can do to help is definitely my target moving forward.”