Phelan highlights consistency and competitiveness with FA Cup Merseyside Derby victory in sight

This weekend builds anticipation within Merseyside as it's the first time Everton's new manager will take control during a Merseyside derby.

On Sunday the 21st of February at 16:30 BST the Toffees travel to the other side of the city to take on the Reds. Interim coach, Scott Phelan spoke to the media ahead of this Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round clash.

Phelan’s impact

With Everton having to find a new manager after the sacking of previous manager Brian Sørensen, Phelan was the man to take his place and ever since Everton have begun to shine. Everton have managed to acquire three wins in a row since the welcoming of their new manager who has certainly begun to mark his place within the club, and he reflected upon this:

“One of the first things I tried to achieve when we arrived was just creating the mentality within the group to win games of football… It's what the talents within the squad should have been able to achieve anyway regardless of the form.”

Progressing in the FA Cup

The team are excited and confident to take on one of the most highly anticipated games of the season after their recent positive run of form. As the team are improving, they know that they need to run with the changes and continue to build on their success especially with such a big game ahead.

However, Phelan says that just because they are playing local rivals their tactics and mindset won't change. Consistency is key in terms of maintaining their winning streak.  Although this specific fixture adds emotion and some bragging rights for the blues the focus is still within their team and their performances to represent the club the best they can regardless of the opposition:

“It would be wrong to say it means nothing that's definitely not the case, but in terms of steering too far away just because their local opposition shouldn't be the case either, were focused on what we believe we have to do to give us a good performance level.”

After their Barclays Women’s Super Leagues campaign has begun to settle in, their FA Cup campaign is just beginning:

“Theres a little bit of history with the club in terms of the FA Cup in previous years and it would be amazing if some of the current squad could have them types of memories that they can keep with them for the rest of the season.”

The significance of the FA Cup

When asked about the significance and importance of the prestigious competition:

“Obviously a different distraction to what the league brings and hopefully we can experience some nice moments.”

The FA Cup isn’t like the structured league phase as we know and really dives into the heritage and opportunities within football, which is what makes it such a good opportunity for Everton:

“A cup run might make sure that there's some really good moments to enjoy between now and the end of the season.”

Everton are now taking place in the knockout stages where every win counts towards that magic of the FA Cup.

Staying competitive across the board

In Phelan’s eyes, the WSL and the Cup are two competitions that can go hand in hand in terms of boosting the squad's confidence in themselves and their play style as every game counts no matter the competition:

“We want a team that wants to win games of football and it's hard to switch that on and off whether it's a league fixture and a cup fixture.”

Phelan wants his squad to maintain that winning mindset he initially talked about brining into the team, no matter the competition:

“Whether it’s league or cup we want to be competitive in any fixture.”