Bedford: Develop That Confidence
- LCFC Women begin life under Lydia Bedford with a trip to Arsenal
- The WSL clash at Meadow Park is a 6:45pm kick-off
- The Foxes’ manager has looked to get her ideas across to the players quickly
- She sees Sunday’s game as a good test against a quality opponent
The Foxes’ new manager, fresh from completing her first week at Belvoir Drive, sat down with the media to conduct a pre-match press conference ahead of tackling the Gunners in her first game in charge.
Although City currently lie at the foot of the WSL table, she revealed that there has been a buzz around training, with everyone keen to take ideas on board and learn from the new coaching team, which includes the experienced Brent Hills as Bedford’s assistant manager.
The 34-year-old is enjoying the challenge of getting to grips with a new environment having worked within England’s youth team setup, while she was already able to strike a bond with the majority of the squad, some of whom she previously coached with the Young Lionesses.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a few days,” she commented, speaking at Belvoir Drive. “It’s been really exciting to get on the grass with the girls. I feel like the week has gone reasonably smoothly, trying to get everyone together.
“The energy on the pitch from the girls has been exceptional this week and the confidence building into the weekend is there. Hopefully they’ll be ready to perform on Sunday.
“It’s a massive help in the building of a quick relationship, the fact that I’ve got a shared experience with a number of them. It makes an initial connection and I’m not a total stranger. It will definitely help us move forward across the season.
“They’ve been really receptive at the moment to every little thing we’ve done, if I’m honest. We made a few tweaks at the start of the week in terms of scheduling and on the grass we’ve tried to keep to a real structure behind what they’ve already done.
“Everything that we’ve thrown at them they’ve taken completely in their stride. I said to them right from the off: 'I’m not going to do anything unless I can give you a rational as to why I think it’s going to help you climb the table and get points. Ask me the question and I’ll give you the answer and we can move forward together'.”
Aware of the size of the task awaiting City on Sunday, Bedford has challenged the players to reproduce the level of performance which earned a draw and subsequent penalty shootout victory over Manchester United in the Continental Tyres League Cup last weekend.
Channelling that belief and character will be key if Leicester are to emerge from Meadow Park with a positive result, she believes.
“Arsenal are unbeaten in the league this season and they are very, very good side with very good players,” she continued. “But you want to be challenged at the best level you possibly can against the best opponents.
“I think this game provides a very good opportunity for the girls. They performed excellently against Man Utd at the weekend. They got a result and we don’t need to make massive changes to that going forward.
“A few of the tweaks around their confidence in possession and how they build play we’re hoping will really help them with that confidence going into the Arsenal game and the games beyond.
“Our task is to be try and be consistent. And that will help us if we can gain consistency in our performances this season, then we’ve got more chance of picking up points. It’s a big game but we’re relishing it.
“I think the pressure is on them because we come into it as an underdog, but the girls are not looking at it with any concern, they are just excited to have another opportunity to keep growing as a team and the morale is in a good place right now, so I think they are ready for it.”
Bedford Outlines Coaching Philosophy In First Presser
Manager Lydia Bedford sat down for her first pre-match press conference with the media ahead of LCFC Women's clash with Arsenal.
Sharing her principles, Bedford is optimistic that the group can continue to progress if they apply the fundamentals of their out-of-possession work. She is encouraging a positive attitude and to play with both freedom and organisation within their game.
“As a coach, I’ve always valued work rate and work ethic on the pitch," Bedford explained. "The way that they are playing at the moment, they have to be pretty resilient in our style of football.
“I definitely get a buzz out of seeing players work hard, press down balls, reduce the time the opposition has to play, because I think that out-of-possession side of it has always been of high value to me.
“If players can give me that work rate on the pitch and I trust that they are executing what we’ve asked of them as well, then that is definitely a big tick. I also love to see them play with a smile on their face.
“They are professionals, and this is their job, but ultimately, 100 per cent of these girls started playing because they love it and I want that to be something that continues and I want to feel like they have the freedom from us to express themselves on the pitch, but within a structure that is going to help us progress.”
All times GMT.