Morgan: The Support Gives Us Motivation

LCFC Women
11 Nov 2021
3 Minutes
Jonathan Morgan has praised the backing the side have received so far this campaign ahead of LCFC Women’s visit to Brighton & Hove Albion on Women’s Football Weekend.

- Jonathan Morgan discussed a range of topics in Thursday’s pre-match press conference
- The LCFC Women manager was speaking ahead of the visit to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday 
- Morgan applauded the fans’ continual backing through a tough spell of form for the Foxes
- He believes the team are not far away from claiming their first points of the season

The Foxes travel down to the south coast to face Hope Powell’s high-flying Seagulls at AMEX Stadium for the first time in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday (2pm kick-off).

The fixture forms part of Women’s Football Weekend, which seeks to highlight and celebrate the women’s game and drive increased attendances and visibility throughout the pyramid.

Speaking in his virtual pre-match press conference from Belvoir Drive on Thursday afternoon, Morgan discussed the level of support shown by the Blue Army throughout the team’s top-flight journey to date, which included a record LCFC Women crowd of over 4,000 for their WSL home debut on Filbert Way.

“It’s fantastic,” he told the media. “You can already see that the fans are growing. Definitely from our point of view, we get an average attendance of between 2,500 and 3,00 per game, which is brilliant for our girls.

We have seen success in our recent games, but I think we’ve just got to try and stay focused and concentrated for 90 minutes.

Jonathan Morgan

“But it’s also really exciting to see how many young females are attending and taking a genuine interest in the sport and that we are able to inspire them. It’s a nice feeling, it’s good to see so many people supporting and following us and everyone is pulling together and rooting for us.

“It just makes you feel a part of something. When our players walk out onto the pitch at King Power Stadium, you can see how much it means to them and that’s something that we treasure, and we aim to use to help push us up the league as well.

“When you see the reaction from fans and other people within the women’s game, it keeps that motivation high for the girls as well because they feel they are being backed, which is always nice when you’re in a difficult patch. It’s good that people are able to see what we’re trying to do.”

City currently sit 12th in the standings, defeated in all six of their WSL fixtures to date, but just one point separates the Foxes from Birmingham City, who are also yet to record a win during 2021/22.

Although it has been a tough start to the season, the LCFC Women manager is confident that they are not far away from earning those vital first points, given the work that has gone on at Belvoir Drive and the continual improvement shown in the performances.

“We’ve come up and kept to our principles and kept to the way we are trying to play,” he continued. “We haven’t executed it the way we would have liked to at this level yet, but there have definitely been spells in every single game where people can see what we’re trying to do and what our philosophy is. They know we are on the right track.

“The belief with what we can do on the ball, that’s the key thing that we’ve worked very hard on, and we have seen success in that in our recent games, but I think we’ve just got to try and stay focused and concentrated for 90 minutes.

“The girls are young and they are learning that, but there’s only a short time that we have to make sure that we right these wrongs. Physical fatigue sets in and that effects the mind a little bit and good decisions become below average decisions and once that happens, that’s what hurts us a little bit.

“We get 10-15 minutes in a game and teams are ruthless at this level and they punish you. We’re working very hard on that, and the girls are putting everything into practice and every day is an experience for them. They are growing. That’s why we feel that the mentality is changing rapidly.”

Fox Travel remains available for Sunday's fixture at AMEX Stadium, which can be purchased HERE.