Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward says that the team want to show their growth and development, starting against Manchester City at Villa Park this afternoon.
The Villans are set to begin their third season in the Barclays Women’s Super League in front of a bumper crowd at Villa Park. The club have backed their women’s team over the summer with head coach Ward able to add some significant quality to her squad including UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 winner Rachel Daly.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Manchester City fixture, Ward said that her side are raring to go and they want to show their qualities in the Barclays Women’s Super League this season.
“Every single day, we strive to be ready, we strive to improve and we make sure that we are well-equipped,” Ward said. “To play Man City on the opening day is always a tough ask but the message has been clear all week, we want to show improvements and we want to show we are closing gaps. I think we have a good blend going into this season, we have an unbelievable wealth of experience as well as youth.
“It’ll be good to play at Villa Park but the build-up is like no other, every single game is a points game. There are no more friendlies, every game we play is for points now and we’ve got to make sure we are ready to take them.”
Manchester City have lost a number of big players over the summer including Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway, Caroline Weir and Keira Walsh but Ward believes that the club have had a successful recruitment drive.
She said “Manchester City are still strong, their squad is unbelievably experienced. They’ve got a lot of quality, they’ve got world-class internationals and make no bones about it, they’ve recruited very well. Yes, they’ve lost some big players but they’ve also brought in some big players and have kept some big players.
“Do I think they’ll finish top three? Yes, absolutely. They’re still a top side with lots of quality and we don’t underestimate them one bit.”
The Barclays Women’s Super League fixture between Aston Villa and Manchester City kicks-off at 12.30pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.