Foxes can play without fear as relegation threat is lifted
BOSS BEDFORD WANTS TO END SEASON ON
LEICESTER boss Lydia Bedford wants her side to end the season on a positive note after they officially confirmed their place in next year’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League, writes Brian Matovu, of Sportsbeat.
The Foxes avoided relegation after bottom club Birmingham City lost 6-0 to Manchester City in midweek, a result that condemned the Blues to the FA Women’s Championship next season.
Now that relegation fears are gone, Bedford hopes her team can play with more freedom and give a good account of themselves in their final clash against Spurs at the Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium tomorrow. She said: “We’d like to finish the season with 16 points, not 13.
“Our preparations for this weekend haven’t changed. Training has looked exactly the same. I’m excited to see them play when there is no pressure.
“Moving into this weekend, we’ve got a reasonably fit and ready squad and I’m hoping the players approach the game exactly as they have.”
Bedford also confirmed she has a significant roster of players to choose from, with several members of her squad in line for a return.
She added: “I think we’ve got more players to pick from than we can put in the squad, so that’s a good start for us on Sunday.
“I’m really pleased to have lots of them back.
“We’ve got the youngest average age in the league. What is most pleasing is that now we’ve stabilised, we’ve got a platform to build on and the players can really grow as they become more experienced.”
The likes of Hannah Cain, Lachante Paul and Jess Sigsworth will miss out with long-term injuries, meaning they will not return until next season.
Leicester face a Spurs side who sit in fifth this weekend but fresh off the back of a 3-0 defeat to north London rivals Arsenal and without a win in their last seven games.
And the London side will be looking for revenge after Bedford’s Foxes knocked them out of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup earlier this year.
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