‘It's In Our Own Hands’ – Kirk Looks To Chelsea Clash
Kirk has been speaking to the press as Leicester build-up to their third game in 12 days, having beaten Liverpool 4-0 before falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat on the road to Arsenal last Friday night.
Before heading back to the capital to take on the current WSL champions, read the main talking points from the manager’s press conference…
Defeat to the Gunners
Last time out, City were narrowly beaten by Arsenal after Frida Maanum scored a speculative effort little over the hour mark. Speaking on the loss, Kirk believes his side were unlucky not to take a point from Meadow Park, especially after a penalty claim on Hannah Cain in the second half.
“I thought it was a positive game,” the manager stated. “We tried to be proactive, aggressive and play on the front foot. I thought we had to suffer a bit, which you always have to against the top teams.
“It was quite mixed, but overall I was happy with our performance looking at the different metrics which we base our ratings at. We had 46 per cent possession against Arsenal which is a positive stat, and I think they found it more difficult to break us down.
“The first few months when I came in, we worked on building confidence and working on conditioning levels, which then allowed us to improve our play. You have to be pragmatic about what you can do or not, but I think everyone is seeing us as a team that will try to play attacking football that will try to score.”
Looking ahead to Chelsea
The Foxes travel to Kingsmeadow to take on a Chelsea side who head into the fixture fresh from a 7-0 victory against Everton at the weekend.
In the midst of a title challenge, the former Everton manager is hoping that the backlog in fixtures for the Blues will result in decreased stamina levels come Wednesday evening.
“Closing that 8-0 gap (from Leicester's last game against Chelsea) is the first target,” Kirk continued. “We improved our performance against Arsenal and could’ve taken a point, so against Chelsea it’s about being competitive, and being in the game for as long as possible.
“We know that they have to continue winning, because of the title race. We may be able to capitalise on them having the Vitality Women's FA Cup Final coming up, but the game comes down to how we focus on us and our mentality.
“We’ll be putting in a better performance than we did last time out against them, but back then I was figuring out what players were going to continue their journey with us and who wasn’t, so we’re in a better position now and we look like a different Leicester.
“There will be certain scenarios where we plan to hold our shape and positions, to protect our goal, which we showed against Arsenal, but we always focus on our mentality in those moments.”
Leitzig’s impression on the team
During the press conference at Belvoir Drive, Kirk was asked about the influence that German ‘keeper Janina Leitzig has had on the team since her January arrival on loan from Bayern Munich.
Having played a big part in Leicester’s bid for league safety, the 24-year-old also saved her first WSL penalty against the Gunners when Katie McCabe was denied from 12 yards out. Looking past the current 2022/23 campaign, the manager revealed that Leitzig is enjoying her time in England.
He added: “It’s hard to think too much in the future with Janina [Leitzig] because of the situation we’re in, as we’re working on hitting our points target and then the future will work itself out. She’s done a fantastic job for us so far.
“At the moment, we’re just going game by game to make sure we remain in the WSL, knowing that the future will figure itself out over time. Everybody can see if we want to keep players then we will be able too. We’re moving in the right direction, and anyone in this building would say they want to be part of the journey that we’re on."
Survival in the WSL
Making up a seven-point gap to now sit one space above the relegation spot, Kirk has been pleased with the performances from his team and believes that Leicester have what it takes to confirm their place in the WSL for next season.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where survival is in our own hands," the 44-year-old concluded. "And I don’t think anyone would’ve thought that possible four months ago, so we need to capitalise on this. I’ve told the players that we’ve not come this far, to only come this far. We’ve put ourselves in a fantastic position and we need to be ruthless to keep it up.
“We’re edging closer to our points target, which is very achievable now at this stage of the season, so we’re in a good position with three games to go, and that’s all we can ask for.”