Taylor outlines “game to game” mentality as the Reds look to regain momentum after the break
Liverpool FC Women prepare to face Leicester City a must-win Barclays Women’s Super League clash this weekend.
Head coach, Gareth Taylor addressed the media following international break, touching on team news, momentum after the break, preparations for Leicester, their home of St Helens, and the importance of adaptability from club to country football.
Whilst the Foxes are in twelfth position with only nine points on the board, the Reds are in eleventh with just 10. Three points are vital for both sides, as they push to edge out of the relegation zone and into safety with a fairly small number of fixtures left this season.
Team news
Regarding team news, Taylor provided positive updates on those with injury concerns. All other players remaining fit and in contention for Sunday’s WSL fixture, following the extended break.
Irish international, Denise O’Sullivan returned to Melwood early from international break, picking up a knock to her knee. Taylor, however, reassured that she is progressing well and could be considered to start on Sunday:
“Certain players like Denise came back after game one of the Irish setup. We had a bit of an issue with her knee. She's coming back into training now with the team over the last couple of days. But we'll wait and leave it in terms of the decision to start or not for the game on Sunday.”
Another positive update came from young forward, Mia Enderby. Having been stretchered off the pitch in Liverpool’s FA Cup fixture with Everton, fears over a long-term knee injury sparked, but she has returned to training and is progressing well:
“Mia, obviously the last time we spoke again was stretching off the pitch and that one was the cause of concern, but she's come through really well and she's trained this week, which has been good.
Academy graduate, Zara Shaw has also returned to the training pitch, but needs more minutes before making the senior squad once again:
“Zara Shaw's back training with us. She’s not being considered for this weekend because she needs to get more training time under a belt, but, yeah, that's been really good.”
With recent injury news and two key players absent this weekend due to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, Liverpool must adapt this weekend and strengthen the midfield with those available to start:
“Anna Jøsendal as well has been with us in this break and she's really looking good. So we have some good options at the top end of the pitch now to uh, to help us where we are a little bit light, has been in midfield, um, because obviously the girls going away with the, the Asian Cup, Risa [Shimizu] and and Fuka [Nagano] and obviously that injury to Denise left us a little bit light in those areas, but we've made a good inroads, we made good kind of reservations for that and also getting Denise a little bit closer to it is going to be really helpful.”
Preparations for Leicester City
In regards to the threat the Foxes pose to Liverpool, specifically in their defensive and attacking structures, Taylor reminded that Liverpool prepare for this on the training pitch and are focussed on implementing this to their game play on Sunday:
“So, if we feel it's going to be like the difficulties in breaking down a block, a defensive block, then we need to really, really focus heavily in that area of the pitch. And we've done that, but we also know that times they try to be aggressive, certainly from opposition goal kicks, certainly from opportunities where they feel that they can jump out of their normal shape. and try to be aggressive.
And again, going back to that Man City game at 6-0, I saw them still doing that at 6 nil down. So, you know, that dictates that you have to earn the right to play, and you have to be like really smart in how you use the ball to hurt the opposition. So, for me, it's feeling confident, the players feel confident that we train everything we need to train. Now it's transferring it to the game on Sunday.”
With only one point separating the sides in the WSL table, the head coach outlined the challenge a fixture like this poses despite mentalities and tactics differing from manager to manager:
“They'll understand where they're at, probably like we will, in the sense of like, the standard, the task that's ahead of them. And what their ambition is will be obviously different to ours. Ultimately. But yeah, I do believe like these teams can be really difficult to play against. I think like, you know, you look at their more recent games.”
Thoughts on the extended international break
When asking about Taylor’s thoughts on the timing of this international break, potentially disrupting the positive form and momentum for his Liverpool side, he mentioned that there is never a good time for a break:
“I don't think it ever comes at a good time, I'll be honest. I think it's really hard for when these players have to put different hats on. They go away with their countries; they play in different ways to maybe the way we do things. It's always been about how quick that they can reset when they come back here to Melwood and coming back into our way and our way of playing.”
However, the head coach praised his players for their adaptability, particularly naming Jennifer Falk and Jenna Clark as players capable of performing consistently both for club and country, despite differing expectations in their style of play and other technical areas:
“Jennifer Falk, as an example, will have been asked to play a different way for Sweden. And perhaps to the way we wanted to play here. You've got someone who's got good emotional intelligence and lots of experience, is able to reset really quickly, but I probably equally say the same about Jenna Clark, one of our younger players, believe it or not.
Even though Jenna's been here for a while and has done good things. I think the leadership that she shows and the way she's able to reset quickly and on top of that, drag others around her to get like really switched on really quickly has been admirable. So, yeah, they're a great bunch of work with these girls and we want to move this thing on. We want to move from game to game in the best possible way we can.”
On playing at St Helens
Although the home of Liverpool Women’s football is not in the city itself, Taylor spoke about the homely environment in St Helens. He added that the core supporters follow the team there, which gives them an extra boost on matchdays:
“I always felt really comfortable at St. Helens, even in the early part of the season. I think it's a really good venue to play at. I understand the logistics for our supporters. You know, it's not in Liverpool, it's in St. Helens, but I think, you know, our core supporters enjoy coming to that environment and getting right behind the team and we certainly feel like it's a home. I think it's a very good pitch. It's a very good stadium.
The inside of the stadium is great for us in a sense of the changing rooms and everything else for the for the girls is top. Just allows us to probably replicate what we have here at Melbourne, which is really good facilities, really good platform to play on.
Liverpool, like most clubs, aim for their home form to be the pinpoint of success, and Taylor is determined to prove this once again on Sunday:
“Of course, most teams want their home form to be their bedrock of their success, and fortunately recently, we've made it really difficult for teams who come to that environment and, yeah, we, we want that to continue.”
Link between success for club and country
In response to the question about success for players on the international stage - for example scoring goals and winning matches – contributing to drive for success for Liverpool, Taylor spoke about the importance of performing on club level to be selected for your national team:
“Yeah, for sure, but the players, any player who's played international football will tell you that the way that they get into the international setup is playing well for their team. playing well for their club, club football…
So they go hand in hand and think that, um, getting there is the important part, understanding how you get there is the main thing is performing well for your clubs. That takes you to the next level.”
The Reds host the Foxes on Sunday 15 March, where they hope to continue their pre-international break positive form and goalscoring ability to put themselves in a strong position away from the bottom of the WSL table ahead of the season end.