Here’s what Sian Osmond had to say ahead of the trip to Ipswich Town Women in the FA Women’s National League Cup…
Our League Cup campaign begins away at Ipswich Town on Sunday. It is expected to be a real tough test after a disappointing defeat on Sunday. What are your thoughts on the game?
“As you mentioned it was a disappointing result on the weekend, but we are learning from the match against Cardiff in order to push on going forward.
“There were still positives so I’m hoping we can carry them into the game on Sunday.
“We are aware what a tough test we face going into the weekend. Ipswich have been fantastic since they have been in the league and we have a few familiar faces to play against as well.”
Ipswich Town have had a strong start this season, having not conceded a goal yet. Does this provide a good opportunity to bounce back?
“I hope so. It should provide the players with that fire in their bellies to go out there, fight for the result and try and get an upset.
“We know it is going to be a tough game, but the girls are ready for it. They have worked harder than ever in training this week to try and rectify where we are at.
“We have reviewed the performance and we are ready to move on this Sunday.”
How are the girls fairing ahead after no midweek match this week?
“It has been a tough week of training and we have had a few girls who have had knocks throughout the week.
“Although it has been tough, the girls have been superb in their attitude as always and are raring to go again on Sunday.”
The fact that it is a cup competition, does that affect our preparation going into it?
“I do not think so. We have gone through the same processes for how we prepare around the opposition and how we review ourselves.
“For me it is an opportunity to give some of the girls some playing time who have not had as many minutes or those who are coming back from injuries.
“It is an opportunity to rotate and to have a good look at everyone, which makes me excited.
“We have had some players coming back from injuries that occurred around the start of the season who are fit and ready to fight for their place in the squad.”
In terms of the progression of Women’s football, Ipswich offered nine of their players professional contracts in the Summer. For a third-tier club, it must be encouraging to see the growth in the game?
“It is fantastic because it shows a statement of intent in terms of what they want to achieve.
“We want women’s football to continue to grow in its professionalism and standards and they are going about things the right way.
“It gives us a tough job when we come up against these teams, but if this is where we want to be and if this is the league we want to compete in, then these are the teams we have to go and be competitive against.”
Ipswich fans should be there in their numbers on Sunday – how important is it we silence them early on and show a statement of intent?
“The way that we start the game is going to be massively important and we need to keep things nice and tight early on.
“We will have opportunities and we need to show our qualities during the match. It is crucial that we are clinical in front of goal so that we can return home on Sunday with a positive result.”