Bristol City’s stand-in boss Matt Beard said that his side struggled with the change in mentality after temporarily climbing off the bottom of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table.
The Robins cut a five-point deficit to climb out of the relegation zone just a few weeks ago before returning to the bottom of the league where they have sadly finished the campaign.
Bristol City’s relegation from the Barclays FA Women’s Super League was confirmed this afternoon as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion. Reflecting on his side’s relegation, stand-in manager Beard highlighted the reasons for Bristol City’s return to the second tier including the fact that the team struggled with no longer being the chasers when they climbed out of the relegation zone.
“There have been times over the course of the season where we have let leads slip when we have been in good positions,” Beard told FAWSL Full-Time after match.
“Things changed when we got off the bottom as well, that was a big thing for me that we were trying to get to grips with that. When you go from being the chasers to being chased, it adds a little bit of a different pressure.
“We’ve given everything to stay in the division but unfortunately, it has not been enough.”
Bristol City will be battling with the likes of Durham, Liverpool, Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic amongst others for promotion back to the Barclays FA Women’s Super League next season. Gaining promotion at the first attempt will be a tall order but Beard believes that the club will have a solid base to build upon if they can retain the services of the majority of the squad.
He added “It’s a good group of players, I think we proved over the course of the second half of the season that we can compete at this level.
“There are some good young players in this team, there are some great foundations, a good core of players.
“If you look at the Continental Cup games, some of the games against Championship clubs were comfortable.
“As long as the club can keep the core group of players together, they will be fine.”
Bristol City’s relegation comes at the end of a five-year stay in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. The last time the club were relegated, they were promoted the following season as runners-up in the old FA Women’s Super League 2.
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