Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that he wants his team to finish the season strongly against Everton at The Academy Stadium this afternoon.
Barring a mathematical miracle, The Cityzens will end the season in fourth place in the Barclays Women’s Super League table, one place below the European qualification spots.
Despite there being little to play for against Everton this afternoon, Taylor still wants his side to put on a show and go into the summer on a positive note.
“We have to play to win the game first, that’s the key and then we try and score as many goals as possible,” Taylor said. “That’s not for any other reason than to respect the opponent that is in front of us.
“It’s a game that I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to seeing our team play in the manner that I think we can. I’ve seen a lot of real positive signs this season.
“I’m really excited about the game and I want us to finish off strong. We have an opportunity to finish on the same points as we had last season. We know that we have ultimately come up short in the title race but there have been some really positive signs and I hope we finish off strong because it sets us up nicely going into the summer and for the start of next season where we will be very similar in the group that we have. That’s a real strength given the ever-changing landscape of the WSL.”
Like Manchester City, Everton are known for their attractive style of football. Taylor is looking forward to his side having the opportunity to play against a team that will come out and try to engage.
He said “It’s a really good game for us. Everton are a team that come out and engage, they always look to play from the back, they try to build and they try to press. Chelsea saw that, they were 4-0 down and still came out and tried to engage with them rather that go for damage limitation. They come out and really try to press and engage and hopefully, that makes for a really exciting game for us.
“We will play our game but we know that we need to get the details right. We’ve done that well this season, we’ve been good. When we haven’t got the details right, that’s when we have potentially suffered.
“It’s a really good opportunity for us, a good game to finish on. The fact that the group will largely stay the same going into next season is really exciting.”
Manchester City’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Everton kicks-off at 2.30pm. Limited tickets remain available by clicking here.
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