Southampton full-back Jemma Purfield says that the club are ready to embrace the pressure of being one of the title favourites in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
The Saints enjoyed a solid first season in the elite game in 2022/2023 and they have continued to invest in their squad over the summer, making a number of impressive additions.
Southampton will kick-off the new season at Lewes on Sunday with many tipping them to put up a strong challenge for promotion. When speaking exclusively to FAWSL Full-Time, full-back Purfield said that the team hope to thrive under the pressure of being one of the promotion favourites.
“We can only focus on ourselves and our performances,” Purfield said. “That’s the target that we have set ourselves (promotion) and I think we have publicly set that target.
“We are always going to have that target on our back but that’s what we play for, we want to be promoted and that’s the pressure that we will hopefully relish in.
“I’m excited for it. We know that it is not going to be easy and we know there are other teams that will be up there competing. We’ve got to turn up every day and make sure we fight and focus to the best of our ability.”
Southampton manager Marieanne Spacey-Cale has signed a number of experienced players over the summer, many of which have performed well on a consistent basis at their former clubs. Purfield went on to highlight the level of competition for places in the squad.
She said “The signings that we have made have been exceptional and that’s only going to help us going forward.
“The depth of the squad is massive and if you want to go all of the way, everyone in the squad has to play their part as it is a long season.
“It is exciting, there’s competition for places all over the pitch. We’ve added fantastic players to an already fantastic squad. It’s going to be a really exciting season for us all.”
After signing a former Barclays Women’s Championship top scorer in Katie Wilkinson last summer, Southampton boss Spacey-Cale has added a former second-highest league goalscorer to her squad in the form of Rianna Dean. If Dean can enjoy an injury-free season, she could strike up a healthy partnership with Wilkinson in attack, something which excites teammate Purfield.
“They are both brilliant strikers and they’ve both proved that they can score goals,” Purfield said. “In addition to that, I think we have even more players in the team that can play up there and score goals.
“Looking at the competition, it is going to be exciting. We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience. We can help each other in different ways and we’ve got players that can fit different game plans.
“It’s going to be exciting to see. Those two (Wilkinson and Dean) are special players and I’m excited to play with them.”
Southampton’s opening Barclays Women’s Championship fixture of the season at Lewes kicks-off at 4pm on Sunday afternoon.
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