Bedford: Honest Reflections Helped Us Move Forward
- LCFC Women tackle Arsenal at King Power Stadium this Sunday
- Lydia Bedford spoke to the media ahead of the 12:30pm kick-off
- The group’s concentration is on delivering a better performance
- Tickets remain on sale for the WSL fixture on Filbert Way HERE
A somewhat difficult weekend for the Foxes, in which Chelsea racked up nine goals without reply to storm to the WSL’s summit, has been followed by a period of contemplation within LCFC Women's ranks before focus swiftly turned to the next challenge.
Tasked with facing another quality opposition at King Power Stadium on Sunday, Bedford, who was speaking from the team’s headquarters at Belvoir Drive, says they are fully aware of the need to perform at a much higher level and get back to their best when coming up against Arsenal (12:30pm kick-off).
She also credited the players' mentality to go again across the week, though key members of the squad remain absent from training through injury, including Abbie McManus, Ashleigh Plumptre and Molly Pike.
“I’ve always said, the spirit in this group is strong and they are resilient,” the manager told the assembled media during Thursday’s virtual pre-match press conference held via video link. “They are quite willing to be honest with each other and reflect on what went on.
“I said to them on Sunday, I owned the game plan and style of what we did, but all I asked of them is that they turned back up on Tuesday morning ready to give us 110 per cent and be ready for Arsenal. They’ve absolutely done that.
“We spent a bit of time on Tuesday talking about the various emotions we probably felt over those 48 hours. We vocalised them and then we screwed them up, chucked them in the bin, picked ourselves up and started talking about what needed to be put in place to be in a better position this Sunday. They’ve responded to that really well.
“From the moment the game ended, you could see the mentality of them to go into themselves and start thinking about their part to play in the result. I think from the start of the time I’ve been here, our players have always been really reflective so far.
“They are very aware of the challenge they had when I walked through the door and what was needed to be able to change that. Week by week they are very honest about their performances.
“We know when we’ve played and performed well, we know when we haven’t. So, it puts us in a good position because they know where they’re at and they know what they need to do.
“I can’t ever doubt their professionalism and the intent that they bring. Even on Sunday, as the result clocked up and the goals went in, they really tried hard to work together. I didn’t see players pointing fingers on the pitch.
“They stuck through that 90 minutes and they walked off the pitch at the end together and I think that’s credit to them in terms of how they have responded this week from Tuesday onwards. Numbers have been low but the intensity that they’ve trained at each day is fantastic.”
Combating the Gunners’ attacking threats will be no mean feat with the visitors, like Chelsea, possessing star-quality and world-class talent across the pitch. There’s little margin for error in terms of the title race too, as Jonas Eidevall’s side look to regain top spot in the division.
The north Londoners overcame Leicester earlier this term, triumphing 4-0 at Meadow Park shortly after Bedford’s appointment as City’s new manager and so there are lessons to be learned from that outing.
“Arsenal are a good footballing side,” she continued, analysing the opposition. “They are a team that want to play to feet. They are going to possess the ball really well. We know they play quite expansive football. We obviously played them in my first game back in December. We know what the result looked like in that game.
“We obviously lost a player just before half-time as well. From the style of football that they play, we expect them to have a lot of the ball. We know we are going to need to be really resilient and defend compactly, to be able to make that tricky for them, but we’re ready for that.”
“From a game plan perspective, there’ll definitely be elements of the game where you see us defend as we have done in previous games. We’re not going to turn up and sit on the edge of the 18-yard box for 90 minutes, but at the same time, we know staying in games for longer is important.
“We don’t want to be in a position where we’re 4-0 down in 11 minutes again and the girls know that. I think it’s about making sure that we start with compactness, and we grow in confidence as the game goes.”
All times BST.