Albion midfielder Kayleigh Green gives her half-season review, after Albion headed into the winter break in 9th spot in the Barclays FA Women's Super league.
Kayleigh, Albion's performances have been inconsistent recently. Can you put a finger on why that is?
It's very frustrating and as a squad no one is happy with it. Against Spurs and Reading a couple of weeks ago I thought it was a case of too many individuals under-performing. We have a better squad than last season and better depth but not enough whereby if a few us aren't at our best we can get away with it. We started the season well but we have struggled sometimes to get going in after an international break. Compared to last season I think we are playing better and our performances are more consistent but we know we can still improve.
Having signed seven players in the summer, do you think there is more expectation now?
Yes, and that's a good thing. We set high standards and we feel when we play teams like Spurs, Reading and Everton, who are similar to us, that we should be competing on equal terms and getting results. We've done that to a certain extent this season but not consistently enough. Every squad has improved, the league is so difficult and there are only a few points difference between a lot clubs. The table can change massively with one good result. We don't want to get fixated on the table but it's important we keep getting results and pushing ourselves up the league. We have been in the WSL long enough now and we are striving to get higher.
The big positive is that you have shown you can compete against the so-called big four of the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal.
That's right. When we're up against those big teams we seem to relax and play with a bit more freedom because there is less pressure externally that we can get a result. We want to be higher up the table and that means not having these dips in our performance levels that we've had. We want to be more consistent. When everyone is on their game and knows their job individually we've shown we can get results against the best teams. We just need to do that week in, week out.
It's been a few years now since Wales boss Jayne Ludlow converted you from a defender to a striker. Do you ever hanker after a return to your old role?
Sometimes it would be nice to play at the back and have a bit more of a breather! Seriously though, I enjoy being further forward. I've played across midfield and up front on my own so I have become quite adaptable, which you have to be because rotation is a big part of how we play. The main thing for me is being in the team every week, after that I don't mind where I'm asked to play to be honest.