Carla Ward spoke to the media at Bodymoor Heath on Thursday morning as she previewed Saturday's game against Chelsea.
Aston Villa’s manager discussed her team news for the game, the morale within camp and her thoughts on Emma Hayes and Chelsea.
Here’s what she had to say…
On injury concerns...
“Lucy [Parker] picked up an injury on [England] camp. She’s had a scan and been assessed, and she definitely won’t be available this weekend. Kenza Dali is back on the grass. We’re still unsure if she’ll definitely be available this weekend but she’s closing in on a return which is massive for us.”
On Chelsea...
“Everyone knows my relationship with Emma [Hayes]. She’s been unbelievable with me since I’ve been in the WSL. She’s one of the best in the world and Chelsea have shown that by losing five [league] games in five years. They’re mentality monsters, they’re a team we’re yet to get a point from but we’re trying to change that and we hope that changes this weekend.”
On lifting the players...
“Remind them how good they are and remind them what they’re good at. I think that’s really important. We’ve analysed our first four games as well as what made us so successful last season. We’ve tweaked a few things, but they’re an honest group of players. We’re a group that want to constantly improve. We’ll never stop working and I believe we’re in a good place. We’ve got to go out there and get points, which I believe we’ll do in November.”
