McManus Confident Results Will Come

LCFC Women
01 Oct 2021
3 Minutes
LCFC Women defender Abbie McManus has full confidence that the Foxes will put a run of positive form together as they prepare to entertain Tottenham Hotspur Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

- LCFC Women host Tottenham Hotspur Women at King Power Stadium on Sunday (2pm BST kick-off)
- The Foxes are searching for their first WSL points, while Spurs hold a 100 per cent record this term
- Defender Abbie McManus, who was on loan in north London last season, is confident points will come
- She also provides an assessment of where Spurs are this season under Rehanne Skinner

The Foxes are still searching for their first points in the Barclays FA Women's Super League and were knocked out of last season's rearranged Vitality Women's FA Cup at holders Manchester City in the week.

Pockets of performances, such as the first half at Academy Stadium, have been encouraging for City, though, and McManus - who is capped 17 times for England - is hopeful that Sunday's visit of Spurs could kick-start momentum and send Leicester up the league standings.

"I’m really enjoying myself," she told the media on Friday. "We’re quite disappointed that we’ve not had a win yet. Obviously, we’ve just been kicked out the FA Cup from last year, so we’re trying to keep morale high. We know a win’s just around the corner and we’re hoping for it to come on Sunday.

"Leicester were used to winning last year and it’s a harsh reality that we’ve taken a step up.

"The WSL is more competitive and more brutal and the games are a lot harder. It’s a big step up for some of the girls, but I truly believe that this group of players and staff can get a couple of wins behind us and hopefully momentum will take us on a winning run at some point.

"There’s no points on the board, but we’re still on the training ground putting the work in and we can feel the win’s going to come at some point. At Aston Villa, we came away from the game and felt a little bit disappointed that we lost the game in 60 seconds.

I know Rehanne as a manager and she’ll definitely be getting them on the grass, working them, and they’ll be doing everything they can to take the three points from us.

Abbie McManus

"It’s one of those you have to learn from. We are looking at everything we’re doing that we can improve. We’re conceding too many goals as a team right now and that’s our biggest focus. We need to stop conceding and build from there."

McManus spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Spurs last season, helping the north London club finish eighth in the WSL, and although many players have since left, the 28-year-old will pass on any knowledge she can to help Leicester secure the three points.

McManus credits Spurs Women manager Rehanne Skinner with developing her game in north London last season.

"Spurs is a great club," she added. "Obviously I spent that season there. Rehanne [Skinner] really put me under her wing and really looked after me after going through a difficult patch at Manchester United, so I’ll forever be grateful to her for that. They’re a good group of girls with a really good team spirit.

"They’ve smashed the league at the start of the season so far. They’re on a really good run, but it’s not something I’m scared of. I’ve spoken to some of the girls and we know what we need to do against them, so they’ll have a little bit of insight from me, but obviously Spurs have had a big revamp.

"They lost 11 players last year and they’ve bought in quite a lot of players, so I think it’ll be different from when I was there. I know Rehanne as a manager and she’ll definitely be getting them on the grass, working them, and they’ll be doing everything they can to take the three points from us.

"Hopefully we won’t allow it."