Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that his side must be prepared for whatever approach that Birmingham City take to the match at St Andrew’s this afternoon.
New interim head coach Darren Carter takes charge of the Blues for the first time, meaning that Birmingham City’s approach to the game may be more difficult to anticipate.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Taylor said that his side must be prepared for whatever approach Birmingham City opt to take under their new interim head coach.
“We need to be prepared for everything,” Taylor said. “I think it is really difficult to anticipate how they are going to set up. Darren was a respected player in his playing time, he was a classy player and I would imagine that he would want to play a possession-based game. He will obviously look at the set up of the team and see what he can implement.
“It is about making sure that we are prepared for the ‘what ifs’ – what if they do press in this manner or what if they do build up in this way? We need to make sure that we are prepared for every eventuality.
“What you do usually have when a new manager comes in is that bounce from the players so we need to make sure that it is something that we are aware of.”
Manchester City go into a challenging period which sees them face three games in eight days and Taylor is looking to sign off for Christmas in a really positive manner.
He said “You go a long period without any games then you have three in quick succession but we prefer it this way even when we have had less numbers in our squad. It is great to work from game to game and that is what the players enjoy, less training and more game time out on the pitch.
“We’ve got two different competitions, a Continental Cup game surrounded by two WSL ones and we want to be successful in them and go into Christmas on a high.”
Manchester City’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture at Birmingham City kicks-off at 2pm.
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