Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that remaining unbeaten between now and the end of the season is his side’s main aim.
The Cityzens have suffered back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion in their last two matches and a third loss would surely end the club’s Barclays Women’s Super League title hopes for another year.
When speaking to the media ahead of this afternoon’s Manchester derby, Taylor admitted that his side’s focus has to be on a 16-match unbeaten streak.
“Of course, to be in with a shout absolutely [go unbeaten],” Taylor said. “We established at the beginning of the season what we need to do to win the league. It’s a case of being there and taking those points.
“Against Arsenal and Brighton, they could have easily been games that we didn’t lose but it can happen and it’s difficult. Remaining unbeaten now is the objective for the remainder of the season but it always has been.
“The players are ready for this game and we are going out to do the business.”
Manchester City topped the table in the opening weeks of the campaign but those recent defeats have now left them in mid-table. Taylor went on to highlight the fine margins of the competition.
He said “We have spoken previously about the fine margins. We were top of the league and now we sit sixth. I think this game is really important in our title challenge, there’s no denying that because you don’t want to lose too much ground.
“Each game is so important, there are none that you can neglect. A draw or defeat can sometimes really hit you hard because the margins are so tight with the minimal games that we play.”
Despite Manchester City’s difficult position in terms of the title race, Taylor believes that his side have been playing well. Being clinical in the final third is their biggest area for improvement.
“I am really happy with how the team are playing,” Taylor said. “In all of our performances this season, in all of the competitions that we’ve played in, we’ve had different challenges in front of us but in general, the play has been good.
“Obviously, at the top end of the pitch, I think we need to be more ruthless and finish off all of the opportunities that we create. We could also create better opportunities in some cases.
“We went to Leicester and won 1-0 in a game that we should have opened up and scored more, a similar feeling at Arsenal and again in the Brighton game, we dominated all of the stats but not the most important one which is winning the game.”
Manchester City’s derby fixture at Manchester United kicks-off at 4.30pm this afternoon.