Everton captain Megan Finnigan believes that the club are in a good position to kick on in the second half of the season.
The Blue Girls struggled at times in the first half of the campaign but they went into the Christmas break in seventh position in the Barclays Women’s Super League table with 11 points.
When reflecting on the first half of the season with WSL Full-Time, Finnigan said that she believes that Everton are well-placed to get many more points on the board after the break.
“There has been a lot of noise around Everton so far this season,” Finnigan said. “Externally, people may say that we have not done so well but we’re on 11 points and before Christmas last year, we finished on 12.
“I think we are in a good position. Obviously, there have been games this season that we should have won that we didn’t win but the club made a lot of new signings in the summer and it takes time for things to click. We’ve had a lot of injuries too but I’m very hopeful that in the second half of the season, we can really kick on and win the games where we dropped points in the first half of the season.
“When things haven’t been going as well as we would have hoped, we have always trusted the process; we know that what we are doing is what we want to do. In time, the points will start to show.”
Everton attracted lots of praise for their performances last season but The Blue Girls’ efforts have maybe gone under the radar this term. Manager Brian Sørensen has done an excellent job in getting results in challenging circumstances. Defender Finnigan believes that Everton deserve more credit for what they achieved before Christmas and she reiterated the team’s desire to kick on when the campaign resumes.
She said “Football is a very fickle game. Last year, we had virtually the same start to the season points-wise and people were saying how well we were doing. This year, we’ve apparently had a poor start to the season which I don’t think is the case.
“Right now, the mood across the group is really good. We got back-to-back wins against Villa and West Ham [before Christmas] which was massively needed.
“I don’t want to hide behind excuses but we’ve had so many injuries this season and I don’t think that we have been able to put out a consistent starting XI as a result. That’s challenging but we are fairly comfortable where we are right now and the aim will be to push on in the second half of the season.”
One thing that Everton can improve in 2024 is their poor home form. The Blue Girls are yet to win at Walton Hall Park this season. Finnigan indicated that Everton can look at their away performances for inspiration for getting things right on home soil.
“It’s a strange one because it definitely feels like home and all of the girls love playing there,” she said. “For some reason, the results just haven’t converted into points so far this year.
“I really don’t know why we haven’t won at home yet, we’ve played well and have played some good football at times. We maybe just haven’t converted chances or conceded sloppy goals.
“We were really solid in some of the games before Christmas, especially against Villa and West Ham, and created some good opportunities going forward. I am sure that we will get that first [home] win soon.”
Everton resume the season with an Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Aston Villa on Saturday 13 January 2024.
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