‘We’ve Prepared Well’ – Kirk Speaks On Reading Fixture
Following their trip to Tottenham Hotspur being postponed, the Foxes were last in action when they lost out to Manchester City in a tight affair at Pirelli Stadium.
Before that, City managed back to back wins against Sunderland and Brighton & Hove Albion, and Kirk outlined his aims to return to this winning form in Burton this Sunday (4pm GMT kick-off), during his press conference at Belvoir Drive.
New signings
Leicester have brought in numerous new faces to the Club, as the manager looks to strengthen his side ahead of the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
This week, defenders Georgia Eaton-Collins and Courtney Nevin joined the Foxes, and Kirk was keen to show his excitement on getting both deals across the line.
“Abbie [McManus] breaking her leg was unfortunate for us and we thought that we needed to add quality and depth in that position, so Georgia will give us that,” Kirk said in his press conference.
“Without a doubt, she [Eaton-Collins] is a ball-playing defender, but she’s also quite aggressive and plays on the front foot.
“She fits the profile in terms of centre-back, and she can also cover either full-back position, and deep midfield. She’s shown great character since being here, I’ve known her several years.
“I tried to sign her when she was 16 at Bristol City, and I’ve tracked her closely since then. She chose Arsenal over Bristol City, but the time for her in America has developed her well to sign for us at the right time.
“She’s played with a few in our group already, such as Molly Pike in the England youth levels, so she’s aware of how we work and has settled in quickly.”
The second arrival to join-up with the squad was Australian international Nevin, who Kirk admits has been on his radar for some while.
“We identified Courtney [Nevin] a while ago,” he continued. “We think of her as a player of high potential that I believe can become one of the best full-backs in the world.
“She’s playing for a top ten country, and has plenty of caps at a young age, which I think is a representation of her accountability.
“She’ll give us good competition for that left-back spot with Jemma [Purfield] but can also allow us flexibility to try players in different positions.”
The FA Cup challenge
Ahead of their first Women’s FA Cup appearance this season, Kirk spoke about how the team have laid the groundwork for taking on the Royals.
“We’re prepared to play Reading," he continued. "We know what they give to a game - it’ll be tough and physical, and they’ll try to play off a lot of transitions so it’s up to us to implement our style and control those transitions.
“We’ve prepared well for it, and we’re looking forward to the game, especially with last week being called off.
“If we analyse our opponent (Reading) we know that they can finish a game strongly. We need to put the game to bed if we get the opportunity to do that. They show a lot of resilience and fight, so we need to be switched on from the start.
“Their results might not show this, but they start games very strongly, with plenty of aggression so we need to be aware of that for the full 90 minutes.”
Balancing the focus
Still currently sat at the foot of the Barclays Women’s Super League, the former Everton manager was asked whether the cup match was seen as a distraction, but explained how he sees it as exactly the opposite. He also discussed his past fortunes in the tournament and how he would like to recreate that this season.
“I’ve got good memories from the FA Cup,” Kirk reminisced. “So I’ll be trying to share those memories. It’s a prestigious competition that everyone wants to do well in. It's a fresh fixture for us.
“It’s a nice diversion of our attention; we’re one of a handful of all-WSL ties, so it’ll be competitive with both teams wanting to progress.
“There’s not that many matches in our league. There are only 22 games, so we can cope with a cup run and still maintain our focus on the WSL. Everybody wants to go far in the cup, and anyone who says they don’t aren’t telling the truth.
“It holds a lot of weight, and that day at Wembley is such a special occasion which I’ve been lucky to witness once, but it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so we didn’t have the fans in attendance, so I’ll like to be part of it again.”
Supporters can pay on the day to purchase match tickets, which will be available from an hour before kick-off at Pirelli Stadium on Sunday.