KEEP CALM ... AND CARRY ON
‘Embracing’pressurecanhelpussealleague
Livingston Women’s midfielder Shannon Mulligan has called on the team to “embrace” the pressure and seal the SWF Championship title on Sunday.
The Lionesses welcome second-placed Renfrew to the Tony Macaroni Arena at the weekend (4pm kick-off ) knowing that a draw would be enough to clinch the title and seal promotion to the second-tier SWPL2.
And Mulligan is confident they’ll be able to get themselves over the line at home.
Speaking to the Courier, she said: “We know what happens if we get a result in this game. We can’t hide from that and we should embrace it without getting carried away.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the game and a lot of pressure on us but we have to be chilled and make sure we don’t put any additional pressure on ourselves.
“You get excited for these games but it’s about using that as a positive. It’s in our hands now and if we can get it done this weekend it would ease that pressure.”
She added: “It’s the type of pressure you want to feel. You’d much rather be in games that decide league titles than battling relegation.
“For us, it’s about showing what we can do. We’ve played 28 games and got ourselves top of the league for a reason so it’s up to us to show why but it’s two good teams playing and it can go either way.
“As much as we’ve proven our place, Renfrew have proven theirs too. They’ve got a very good team and we definitely won’t be taking them lightly.”
Mulligan has been part of the side since the Blackburn United days and tasted league success with them before the transition to Livingston. The local lass admits the chance to sample glory again and represent the club in SWPL2 would be a huge source of pride.
She said: “I played for Blackburn and we won a league title there. I think to achieve the Championship title in our second full season at Livingston, if we can get over the line, would be an incredible achievement.
“I’ve been involved with the club for a good few years and there’s some of the same coaches and girls from those Blackburn days.
“It’s been a great move and being part of that is something I’ve really enjoyed.”