Birmingham City forward Lucy Quinn says that the club are keen to pick up from where they left off before the Christmas break in terms of their Barclays Women’s Championship form.
The Blues have taken time to adjust to life in the Barclays Women’s Championship but they ended 2022 with back-to-back away wins at Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers.
The upturn in results has left the Blues five points adrift of the league summit with a game-in-hand on three of the four sides above them.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time, Birmingham City forward Quinn said that the team are keen to pick up from where they left off when the Barclays Women’s Championship action resumes later this month and that consistency will be a big factor in the second half of the season.
“We are professional athletes and we are looking to compete seriously in this league and you can’t do that without being consistent,” Quinn said. “There are lots of factors that we can’t control in football and lots that we can and I think we needed to take a bit more responsibility and have a bit more grittiness about us in terms of keeping that consistent performance week in, week out.
“We are on a really good run now in the league. The win away at Bristol was really important, it was away from home on a pitch that lots of people could find intimidating and we all rose to the occasion and put in a really good performance. Since that result, we have been growing and it is now about picking up the form again this year.
“The results (in this league) are sometimes unpredictable, you can lose or drop a few points and still be in with a chance.
“We have to really hit the ground running and continue this form if we want to go and do something substantial this year.”
Quinn went on to say that she has not been surprised by the strong level of competition in the Barclays Women’s Championship whilst admitting that the Birmingham City squad has taken a bit of time to gel.
She said “It has been challenging but I was expecting that just from the league standpoint, it is really good to see how much the professionalism in and around the league has grown. That was the plan over time (to professionalise the league) and obviously, we are starting to see that now with what clubs are able to do in terms of full-time facilities and full-time squads.
“I knew it was going to be tough and that it wouldn’t be an easy jump straight back up. I knew that there would be four or five teams in and around the top of the table looking to do the same thing.
“Bringing a lot of new talent into the squad was really exciting but it was always going to take time to learn about each other and our qualities so it has come with its challenges.”
Birmingham City return to Barclays Women’s Championship action when they travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Sunday 15 January 2023.
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