Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward says that her side need to keep pushing the standards in the second half of the season as the club look to continue their steady growth.
The Villans resume their Barclays Women’s Super League campaign with a home fixture against Tottenham Hotspur at The Poundland Bescot Stadium this afternoon. Aston Villa currently find themselves in seventh place in the league table following a solid first half of the season which has seen them collect 12 points from their nine matches.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Ward said that the remainder of the season will be about driving forward standards and continuing the evolution of the team.
“We want to be better every day, we want to drive standards every day and we want to win as many football matches as possible,” Ward said. “We want to keep improving.
“We are not going to make a statement that we want to finish really high (in the table) but we want to improve every day and we want to make sure that we finish as high as possible. By doing things the right way and by playing a brand of football that we believe in, it shows that Aston Villa Football Club are progressing, that is the most important bit.
“There will be setbacks along the way but I believe in what we are trying to do so we will continue to kick on.”
This afternoon’s fixture is likely to bring a debut for Tottenham Hotspur’s record signing Beth England. Ward went on to say that Spurs’ new addition will help to take the North Londoners forward off the back of a tough first half of the season.
“Spurs are a good side, they’ve got some great players,” the Aston Villa boss said. “Signing Beth (England) is a huge statement, you don’t usually see those figures paid so it certainly puts the market in a different place.
“It shows their ambition, it shows their intent and I only expect them to go one way in the new year. They had some good performances (in the first half of the season) but they were probably lacking that cutting edge. Now, they’ve obviously recruited Beth and it will help them massively.
“I see a big improvement, I really do. They’ll kick on now, no doubt.”
Aston Villa’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur is scheduled to kick-off at 12.30pm this afternoon. Admission will be available on the turnstiles but please note that The Poundland Bescot Stadium is a cashless venue.
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