Be More Efficient With The Ball, Says Whelan

LCFC Women
09 Nov 2022
2 Minutes
Aileen Whelan says LCFC Women must improve in possession as the Foxes look to learn from 4-0 defeat to Arsenal at King Power Stadium.

- LCFC Women beaten 4-0 by Arsenal in Barclays Women’s Super League
- Frida Maanum, Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Stina Blackstenius all netted for the Gunners
- It’s about recognising how City play with each other, says Whelan
- The captain shared her post-match thoughts with LCFC TV

Ahead of the international break, City welcomed an in-form Gunners side to King Power Stadium but were unable to break the visitors' 100 per cent record in the Barclays Women's Super League as they found themselves on the wrong side of a 4-0 result.

Following the home defeat, Whelan told LCFC TV: “I don’t think we expected anything else from Arsenal, who are one of the best teams in Europe.

“I believe we showed how we can play them off the park at times, but we just need to tidy up a little bit out of possession and not give the ball away so cheaply. We had no pressure on us today, and with everything that’s gone on midweek, we just had to go out and enjoy ourselves and showcase what we can do and try break Arsenal down.

"We had a few opportunities, and if we’d have taken them, it could’ve been a different scoreline.”

Aileen Whelan previously played in the WSL for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Whelan explained how even in tough defeats, you must learn from the game, and focus on the positives.

She added: “It’s about recognising how we play with each other. We’ve got to work on our possession aspect and that’s going to win us games. We’ve got lots of matches that we can get points from moving forward.

“It’s been difficult for everyone to make the adjustments (following the change in management), but [Willie Kirk] has only had one day to come in, so moving forward we’ve got to look forward to picking up points and doing well in the league.”

Heading into a short break in fixtures while international games take precedence, the No.10 is confident that the Foxes will utilise this time wisely as they prepare for a trip to West Ham United on Sunday 20 November (3pm GMT kick-off) in the WSL.

She explained: “[Kirk] will get time to imbed what he wants, and his philosophy, and we’ve just got to go with the game plans and hopefully that’ll bring us some success, but hopefully the fans have enjoyed it, and they’ll keep coming back and supporting us, because its coming and we will get some points on the board.”