Leicester City manager Willie Kirk says that he is expecting the ultimate challenge from latest opponents Chelsea this afternoon.
The Foxes are without a single point after eight league matches while Barclays Women’s Super League champions Chelsea arrive at The King Power Stadium top of the league after a run of seven consecutive wins.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Leicester City boss Kirk said that he is expecting the ultimate test from The Blues.
“They will pose a challenge of world-class levels,” Kirk said. “Emma (Hayes) has been working at that for 10 years now and by her own admission, this is the best squad that she has ever had. When she goes public and says that, baring in mind what they have achieved in the last three of four years, it certainly tells you how hard the challenge is going to be.
“I’d like to think that we have a group of players who will look forward to that challenge rather than shrink under that challenge. It is certainly a challenge that I want to be involved in and I’d like to think that all of the players feel the same.”
With Leicester City now four points adrift at the bottom of the Barclays Women’s Super League table, the East Midlands club are in serious danger of relegation. Kirk went on to say that the players are well aware of the situation that they are in but it doesn’t necessarily bring added pressure.
He said “There is a realisation that we are in a relegation fight without a doubt. Pressure comes every day and that should have been the case from the start of the season because we are setting high standards on a daily basis and that is not really reflective of if we have got zero points or if we have got 24 points from the eight games.
“There is a pressure every day to perform and there is a pressure every day as a professional to do your job to the best of your ability. Those are the standards that we are trying to drive at the club and that’s for players and staff.
“It is about retaining the WSL status this year but that is not the long-term goal.”
The Barclays Women’s Super League fixture between Leicester City and Chelsea is scheduled to kick-off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.