Scofield Outlines Aims As New Season Approaches
- Connie Scofield sits down with LCFC TV to discuss pre-season
- The midfielder is hoping for more game time in 2022/23
- She endured a frustrating maiden campaign at the Club
- Now fully fit and ready to go, Scofield can’t wait for the new season
The LCFC Women midfielder, who joined from Birmingham City in the summer of 2021, endured a difficult campaign, picking up an injury which ruled her out of the first half of the team’s maiden Barclays Women’s Super League season.
Eventually making her debut as a substitute in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur at the turn of the year, only one further WSL appearance followed for the 23-year-old, as Leicester secured their top-flight status.
The new season brings a fresh opportunity for City’s No.44, and it is one she is keen to grab with both hands as the opening fixture versus Everton on Sunday 11 September comes into view.
Pre-Season Gym Work For LCFC Women
A look at the Foxes' latest pre-season gym session at Belvoir Drive.
“Fingers crossed, I’ve had a good pre-season so far,” Scofield expressed to LCFC TV this week. “I just can’t wait to get back into the season this time around and stay fit for as long as possible, that’s what I’m really looking forward to.
“We are so excited for it to get going. The first game against Everton – we just can’t wait to play. We feel like we’ve done all the preparation that we can, we’ve had friendlies and we’ve been working hard with each other every day.
“We can’t wait to see the fans again and playing at King Power Stadium, it’s just so amazing that it’s our home ground. We want to make it our fortress.”
Those preparations have included pre-season match-ups with the likes of Women’s Championship sides Bristol City and Southampton, while more recent games have pitted the Foxes against top-flight opposition in Reading and Brighton & Hove Albion.
While a key marker for fitness and gaining minutes, the pre-season games have also allowed time to nail down the key principles of how manager Lydia Bedford wants the team to play, as well as getting that matchday feeling back.
Scofield explained: “We’ve had some good games to really put into practice what we’ve done on the training pitch. It’s been really important to know the patterns that we’ve been doing on the training pitch and with varying opposition, we don’t know exactly what they are going to do.
“So, it’s just reacting on the day and how we can use what we’ve learnt to adapt. Working towards it throughout the week, in preparations for the games, like we will do in the season, is good.
“You can’t really replicate a real match, but having friendlies and the build-up beforehand, there’s nothing better than that and putting on the kit to fight and battle with your team-mates to beat the opposition.
“When you go into a gameday, it’s excitement and nerves. You don’t get that every day in training, so it’s just really good for everybody to replicate what will happen in the season and just experiencing all those emotions and going into it wanting to win.”
As a current player, helping summer signings to integrate into the squad has been another key factor, with four new faces through the door at Belvoir Drive.
She added: “We’ve been in for a good period of time now, we’ve had some new players coming in, so it’s been a really good time to get to know each other on the pitch as well as off it.
“We have meals times and all our prehab together and it’s just that extra effort to make them feel welcome, to give them a bit more confidence.”