Scheuer: Everyone must be ready to play

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Albion look to bounce back from the weekend's defeat at Leicester, as they face West Ham in the Conti Cup.

Bruce Talbot

2023-01-18T06:00:00Z

Jens eager to bounce back in Conti Cup game.

Jens Scheuer says all of his players will have to play their part as Albion prepare for the second of three games in a week.

Tonight’s Continental League Cup game against West Ham United at the Broadfield Stadium (7.30pm) is sandwiched between two WSL games and Albion need to win to progress to the quarter-finals.

The German confirmed that neither Megan Connolly or Elisabeth Terland will be available to face the Hammers because of thigh injuries, while Dejana Stefanovic was due to have an MRI scan after her debut against Leicester City on Sunday was cut short by back trouble. Poppy Pattinson is also a doubt.

“Every player in the squad is important,” said Scheuer. “Losing Megan, Elisabeth and possibly now Dejana makes it a difficult situation but there are some youngsters and more experienced players who are ready to play.

“I know my best formation if all our players are ready but others can change my mind. It’s a challenge for them, I have invited all the girls to show me they are good enough to start.”

Scheuer’s first game in charge ended in a 3-0 defeat to Leicester and the head coach gave an honest assessment of the performance, having watched the game again.

“We are all disappointed, obviously it wasn’t the result we wanted. We have analysed what we can to do better. It was important for me to see the girls in a WSL game so I can be clear in the messages we give to them.

“We created some good chances to score and took the wrong decision sometimes which can happen.

“It will be interesting to see how we react. We will be well prepared for West Ham and we’ll select the best team because we want to get to the next round.”

Making the squad even fitter is a long-term project, according to Scheuer.

“It’s a difficult situation with three games in a week so we can’t work too much on the physical side,” he added. “But there is an international break in three weeks when we will work on fitness.

"We want to play with intensity and run more than the other teams. This is a process which doesn’t change overnight and is something we will work on to achieve. It’s a question of how quickly we can do that.”