Attention quickly turns to Wednesday’s Barclays Women’s Super League trip to Villa Park, just three days on from us reaching the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Speaking in her pre-match press conference at Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday, head coach Renee Slegers spoke about what the last 48 hours have been like since arriving back from France, and how we can shift our focus onto another important game against Aston Villa.
“Yeah, so individualisation yesterday with regards to what the players needed from a recovery versus training perspective,” she explained. “So that's what we did yesterday, but it was also an important moment to get together and acknowledge what we did.
“So great energy, togetherness and that was important for us. I think you want to acknowledge the emotions and not neglect them and today has been all about the preparation for Villa and like I said before, the balance of using those emotions and the momentum that we have, but also regulate that because we need to be focused and ready for Villa tomorrow.”
We travel to Birmingham knowing that Villa, with two wins from their last two matches, have secured their WSL status for next season, while we remain hopeful of capitalising at the top of the table should Chelsea slip up in their remaining games.
“It's a good team,” Renee said, commenting on Villa. “They've secured their spot in the league for next year, so I guess they're happy with that.
“They've changed their structure a little bit. Of course, they come from two wins in the league and I think they will be free in the way they will try to take on the game tomorrow.
“So we are very aware of what they can bring to the game and where they come from. So we need to be 100% focused and concentrated on what we need to do tomorrow.”
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