There’s Belief In The Team, Says Whelan

- LCFC Women face Manchester City at King Power Stadium
- The Barclays Women’s Super League fixture has an 11:30am kick-off
- The Foxes faced the Citizens two weeks ago in a narrow defeat in the Continental Tyres League Cup
- Captain Aileen Whelan stated that WSL survival is the team’s main priority

The Foxes return to King Power Stadium this weekend as they welcome Man City for WSL duties. It’s been three weeks since City were last on Filbert Way, and that day will live long in the memories of the Leicester faithful who saw their side pick up their first points of the season in a 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Whelan scored the opening goal that Sunday, and even assisted another as her team created a platform to build on, with the Foxes now looking to lift themselves off bottom spot in the standings.

“January was a good month for us,” the captain stated in her pre-match press conference. “Obviously we got points on the board with a positive performance against Brighton. The goals and the result have given us the momentum needed to go forwards.

“Even last year, our performances were there, we just weren’t getting the points, but there’s been a shift in the passion and desire to work for those results and getting the fans to stick with us is vital as we start to head in the right direction.

“We’re a lot more positive, and there’s more belief within the team, and we’re ticking off the tasks and are heading in the right direction. Hopefully February is the same and we continue to build.”

After 120 minutes of football, City were eliminated from the Vitality Women’s FA Cup by Reading on penalties, but the former Brighton player believes this hasn’t interrupted their ambition.

“It’s disappointing to lose in the FA Cup, because as footballers we want to play in as many games as possible,” Whelan continued. “But we’ve got to put that aside and focus on the league which is now our priority until the end of the season.

“To climb the table, we need points on the board. So anything, whether it’s one point or three, will help in aim of doing that. We just want to make sure we leave with something.”

Ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Whelan confirms the team have done their homework on Gareth Taylor’s side and will be looking forward to the challenge that the Manchester club will pose when back on home soil.

She added: “Man City always play the same sort of game plan, so we’ve done our analysis on that and have talked about how we can counteract their strengths and attack their weaknesses. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we go out with the same mentality.

“Every week the fans turn up and we can hear them from the first whistle to the last, and I’m sure Man City will be bringing a big following with them so we need as many Foxes as we can to overshadow that noise, to help us on the pitch.”

All times GMT.