Ruiz: We're building an identity

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Albion boss looks ahead to Sunday's game against Natalia Arroyo's Aston Villa at the Amex.

Heather Miller

2026-09-20T06:00+01:00

Arturo Ruiz has his first game as head coach at the Amex Stadium on Sunday. 📸Paul Hazlewood.

Albion continue their WSL campaign on Sunday as they host Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium, kick-off 2pm.

With a point collected on the road last Sunday against Birmingham City thanks to a last-minute equaliser from Kiko Seike, head coach Arturo Ruiz and his squad are aiming to take all three in front of the home crowd.

He said, "In moments of each game, the confidence, the clarity and the relationships are building. The main one is that the whole team continues to go in the same direction.

"We learned a lot of things from our second game in Birmingham. The energy has been really good in the five days that we've been together since then.

"The energy, predisposition and everything that all of us are giving are exactly what the team needs. Those changes are always positive.

"Each day for me is huge. My priority is knowing the league and English football, but it's bigger knowing about my players and the club because being strong inside is what is going to let us be strong outside in competition.

"The rhythm and the differences between all the games are huge, so you need to keep adapting all the time while building an identity. The level is high here."

Looking ahead to his third game in charge, he expects a tough test against Natalia Arroyo's Villa side after they started the campaign with a draw and loss.

He added, "It's going to be a really hard one because Aston Villa are a really good team. She knows the league perfectly, she's been here for a long time and she is a really good coach. I wish her all the best in all the games except on Sunday!"