Sian, on Sunday we travel to Crawley Wasps in the FA Cup First Round. How are you feeling ahead of the trip?
“I am excited to get back into fixtures and it is always good to be involved with the cup games.
“It offers something special, particularly because the FA Cup is such an historic competition.
“We are really looking forward to getting back into action.”
Having already played Crawley Wasps in the league, does this give us an advantage heading into the match?
“I would not say it gives us an advantage but we know a little bit more about the opposition that we are going to be facing
“It definitely gives us an insight into what we could be going up against at the weekend.”
We have not played for two weeks as the Portsmouth game was called off. How do you think the break has affected us?
“Hopefully not at all. We have worked really hard within these past two weeks and the players have been fantastic, with all of them putting a shift in.
“It has given us more time to grow and mould as a group, so hopefully it should just give us better preparation in the build up to Sunday.”
The team togetherness is always there to see, especially on the training pitch. How can we bring this positivity onto the pitch this Sunday?
“We have said it on numerous occasions but it has been a really interesting season for the club so far because there has been a lot of transition.
“This group of girls have been fantastic and I can not give them enough credit. They have all come together really well which has created a really positive environment where everyone is willing to work hard.
“They all continue to learn and it has been an absolute pleasure working with every single one of them. Particularly during this time, it has given us more opportunities to be together and to grow as a team.”
Sunday’s fixture falls within ‘Women’s Football Weekend’. How important are initiatives like this?
“It is fantastic to put the spotlight on women’s football. We want to continue to see the women’s game grow as it has been amazing to see the improvement over the last few years.
“We want standards to push and grow, and initiatives like this are exactly what is needed to give it the real recognition that it deserves.”
Jo Wilson has been in the team for a number of weeks now and has really made the role her own since rejoining the club?
“Jo has been fantastic since coming back in and is a pleasure to work with. She is a great person to have in and around the group.
“You see the quality that she brings on a matchday and she is very experienced.
“We have to continue to work hard and we will get the best out of her if we do.”
What are you looking to see from our players on Sunday at Crawley?
“We are looking to continue using some of the bits and pieces that we have worked on in training.
“We have reviewed the last game that we played and had a look at what we needed to do better as a group.
“We hope to be defensively solid going into the game and being more creative as well.
“We definitely have the quality in the group, such as Jo and many of the others to put chances away.”
How seriously will you look to take the cup competition given the fact we have got a busy league schedule?
“It is a fantastic opportunity within the cup to give people the chance to play and show what they can do.
“To have that within the squad is really important and we have grown in depth as the season has progressed.
“It is starting to create that healthy level of competition that we all always wanted and the cup gives you the opportunity to look at that.
“There is always something special to a game when it is a knockout competition. It brings out a slight edge and you see the best out of players when they are in that situation.”