Carla Ward takes her Aston Villa team to Leicester City in the Barclays WSL on Friday.
The club’s manager will be looking to improve Villa's form when they arrive at Pirelli Stadium, and she previewed the game at her pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
Here’s what she had to say…
On team news...
"No fresh injuries. Freya [Gregory] will be back in the squad, she was cup-tied last week. That’s an extra body. Maz Pacheco was suspended last week, she’ll be back in contention. Adding Maz and Freya to last week’s squad will be good."
On the defeat to Everton...
"Very concerning. We addressed it as a group and we’ve had a really honest conversation about it. The biggest thing for us is getting consistency because we can’t have really good days and then really bad days. It’s important that we’ve had the few days we’ve had… but the girls will be ready to go out there on Friday and deliver for the fans."
On Friday's game...
"We have to win it. If you take away their win at Derby [County] at the weekend, they’ve had a tricky run. They will feel like it’s a must-win as well which puts even more pressure on. It’s two teams that have to go out there and win, and two teams that will do everything they can to try and win the game."
On Freya Gregory...
"First and foremost, I want to keep Freya. There are options for her to go on loan, it’s about what’s right for her. It’s somebody we want to keep in the environment. She had a good first half of the season at Reading, she can play at full-back as well as on the left side of attack. She’s a good, young talent who can add a lot to what we’re trying to do."
On Olivia McLoughlin...
"I’m a big fan of Liv. It’s important that Liv continues to develop. Guaranteed game time was probably a driving force for her. Would I have liked her to stay in the environment? Of course. I’m such a big admirer of Liv, not just as a player but she’s an unbelievable human being. It’s one of those where, between club and player, it was probably the right thing to do."
