Hope Powell reflected on a difficult week that culminated in a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League at the People’s Pension Stadium.
A positive Covid-19 test for a member of the backroom staff meant Hope Powell and her assistant Amy Merricks have had to self-isolate and the team’s training schedule was disrupted. Perry Northeast, technical director of the club's regional talent centre took the team.
She said, “We only had a short training session yesterday in preparation as we had to wait for more test results to comeback negative, which they did. The main thing is everyone is fit and healthy.
“It has been a difficult week and it showed in the performance. We didn’t play at the level that we have been in recent weeks.
“For me it was really difficult trying to manage the game from the sofa and not actually being there. But, that being said, the staff that came to take over at short notice and in very difficult circumstances have been absolutely tremendous.
“You also have to applaud the girls. It hasn’t been the kind of preparation we wanted at all going into what for us was a big game. It’s very disappointing and frustrating.”
Powell outlined the difficulties of watching from home while trying to communicate with the staff on the bench.
“There was a time-lag on the stream and you can’t influence the game as you would like, so I was constantly trying to call the bench just to try and give some support.
“If we had won the game then it would have been a little bit different. We’ve had a tough week of preparation that has been very, very challenging.”