Saints set for league lift-off Skipper confident in squad’s ability
Training numbers have been soaring and competition for places will ensure St Johnstone WFC don’t take their eye off the ball.
That was the message from skipper Jade Greenshields ahead of the Scottish Women’s Premier League 2 curtain-raiser this weekend.
The Perth club’s captain was at Hampden earlier this week for the official launch event and was in confident mood when speaking to the Perthshire Advertiser.
Saints open up with a Glasgow fixture against newly-promoted Queen’s Park on Sunday.
“We’ve got a lot more players this season and it’s a bigger squad,” said Greenshields. “You need to be working hard to make sure you have your place for the next week.
“The training numbers have been brilliant because players don’t want to miss a session as that could put their place in jeopardy.
“It keeps everyone on their toes. The team can change really quickly because we have the players and the bench looks good.
“The players we have brought in are of a good quality. We need to keep stepping up as individuals and can’t lose concentration.
“Queen’s Park have always got a big squad and play quite wide. They play at Lesser Hampden, which is a massive pitch.
“And they have signed a lot of players. I spoke to the girl who was representing them at the launch and she seemed very positive about it.
“You can’t take any opposition for granted because you just never know.”
Saints have played two competitive cup group games so far this year and were defeated 1-0 at Spartans before going down 6-0 against Celtic.
Those teams both ply their trade in Scotland’s top tier and Greenshields said: “We knew what we were doing for the Spartans game.
“We had a formation and everyone knew their role.
“Bringing that into the first competitive game was really good and we did work really hard.
“The weather was a nightmare and affected both teams.
“But we played some really good football. They got that one chance and scored, but it was good to see where we were at.
“And against Celtic we played our game and went at them.
“The first half was really good and we put a lot on them. In the second half, they took over a little bit and there wasn’t much we could do. We made some subs to get fresh legs on.
“Overall I feel we are very organised. Myles Allan is a lot more involved now and everyone we’ve got knows their responsibilities.
“Everyone is looking forward to the season because we know what we’re capable of. Hopefully it’s going to be a really good one for us.
“There’s good morale and the games so far have given an indication of how good we can be.”
Midfielder Niamh Fellenger, a recent signing, added: “Queen’s Park will be motivated to prove their value in the league.
“I am very familiar with the side from playing against them last season and know they will be a very physical side. They will look to put us under a lot of pressure.
“From our preparation in training and experiences in cup games, we have more than enough quality to get a positive result from the game.”