The Players Know What's Required, Says Bedford

- LCFC Women tackle Birmingham City Women at St. Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium on Sunday
- The 2pm kick-off sees the bottom two face off in the Barclays FA Women's Super League
- Manager Lydia Bedford has called on her players to deliver a performance worthy of three points
- She also discusses the impressive nature of City's display against the Blues last time out

City have won three of Bedford's seven matches in charge since the former England youth coach was appointed in December – after previously losing 10 of their opening 12 fixtures during the early months of 2021/22.

They're now off the bottom of the Barclays FA Women's Super League and can go five points clear of the Blues with a win on Sunday (2pm kick-off). Leicester can also take heart from a 2-0 victory over the same opposition when the two sides met at King Power Stadium before Christmas.

That success came early on in Bedford's tenure at LCFC Women and, ahead of the upcoming encounter at St. Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium, the manager can pinpoint areas of that performance which must be replicated again in the second city.

"For me, it was the first game where I really saw the potential this squad have in possession and, with the confidence they built from that game, what we could potentially work on in future games," Bedford told the media at Belvoir Drive earlier this week.

"I was really pleased with our performance on that day. I thought it was very professional. We had to ride out some tough moments. Birmingham certainly threw a lot at us. It was a 2-0 game but there were moments where Birmingham could have got goals.

"The key learnings are, when we look after the ball well and we use the spaces well, we can dominate possession. A key watch-out for us is Birmingham on the transition and making sure we do our jobs to be as secure as possible while also looking after the ball."

Goals from Shannon O'Brien, Sophie Howard and Esmee De Graaf secured an impressive Vitality Women's FA Cup triumph at Tottenham Hotspur Women last weekend. Bedford says confidence is high after that achievement and has discussed it with her squad in the build-up to Sunday's outing.

"It's so important," she continued. "Anything we can do to shift the mindset, we want our players to be in a position to really believe that they've got the tools and the capability to be able to go out and win every game, that's critical.

"The belief that's created from equalising and winning a game in extra-time, it's massive. Finger's crossed, we'll be able to come back to those moments in games to come. There's an air of confidence. The group are ready and they know what their roles and responsibilities are at the weekend.

"They know what they need to do to get the performance that will help us get the result. Obviously, it's going to be a big game, but as I've said many a time before, this weekend won't define our season. We'll make sure we keep preparing for every game the same way we always have done.

"I'm confident, if the girls take what they've built across the past five or six games, they'll come off the pitch at the end very proud of what they've achieved."

All times GMT.