Bees manager Lee Burch was in good spirits ahead of his side’s trip to London rivals London City Lionesses in the Conti Cup this Sunday (14:00)
The FA Women’s Championship manager of the month was keen to build on the momentum his side built-in that successful period and from their last game a fortnight ago as they beat Lewes 2-1 at The Hive.
The Bees now come into a run of three London derbies in a row and Burch highlighted how key the confidence in the group will be going into these big matches.
“As I said at the time of the award, it really was a team effort, it was a really good month and it has been a good start to the season. Everyone involved with London Bees should be really pleased with the start that we have made to the season. We now need to come out of that month and continue what we have started”
“We want to keep the momentum going, the Conti Cup gives us a nice opportunity to come back into things after two weeks away, it’s also against a side we have already played, we lost out that time so it gives us the chance to measure up against previous opposition before we head back into league action against Palace”
“It’ll be a really tough game, we performed ok last time, albeit in defeat, we’re looking forward to an exciting game”
Burch was keen to emphasise how the unity amongst his playing squad has been crucial to the start the Bees have made, as well as how it’ll benefit his side going into the next run of fixtures across league and cup competition.
“They are a really good bunch and they do get on well, most managers will sit and talk about their great team spirit, but genuinely we have a group that enjoys each other’s company. I think all in all the spirits are high and that comes with winning, obviously, we have to keep winning to keep that spirit, but it’s not the kind of group to get too low on the lows.”
“After having a couple of weeks off it’s nice to have a run of games, so we can get minutes into the legs. I am looking forward to seeing how the whole squad performs over a good period”
“We then have an international break, before another really busy run of tough fixtures, so it is going to be full-on. But everyone in the squad and staff are excited about what’s to come”
The boss feels the cups are a crucial time for players to get minutes in the tank, as well as help further intensify the already hot competition for places in the league squad, but also pointed out that he wouldn’t rotate for the sake of rotating going into the game on Sunday.
“The rotation so far has really been to get people minutes when they’ve come back from injury and to give the whole squad opportunities. Top to bottom the squad isn’t that different from one another, the competition is very strong”
“When we get to those midweek matches we will be looking at the freshness and mixing things up. But for now, it’s who deserves to play and who is going to get those minutes”