Brighton & Hove Albion defender Laura Rafferty insists that the side will be travelling to the Keepmoat Stadium on Sunday to face Doncaster Belles in high spirits, having enjoyed a successful campaign so far.
The Seagulls make the journey to Yorkshire to face the table-toppers, having won four, drawn once and lost once in their six games in FA WSL 2 this term, and Rafferty stressed that every contest is one the side believe they can win.
She said, “It’s an exciting game because we’re in there to win the league.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we go into every game looking to win – training’s been really competitive and we’ve been working hard, so it’s a game we’re looking forward to.
“There’s a big incentive to close the gap at the top of the table on Sunday and we’ve got a game in hand too."
Hope Powell’s side have suffered just one defeat so far in their league campaign, a 4-3 reverse to Millwall, and the Albion defender emphasised that she feels the team have improved all aspects of their game.
“We’ve been in every game this season, including that loss [to Millwall].
“I feel like we’ve improved all round as a team, both on and off the pitch. I feel like we’ve gelled well and everyone’s getting better individually too.
“We’ve worked a lot on our fitness and that’s important because in games like the one on Sunday, that’s what it may come down to if it’s close between the two sides.
“The game against Tottenham Hotspur last time out was decided in the last few minutes, and that showed us the importance of our levels.
“Teams that are meant to be at the top will have to do that and sometimes you have to grind out results."
The side has been strengthened by the arrivals of Chloe Peplow and Amanda Nilden this month – with both settling in well and providing competition for places in the squad.
“We’ve had some new faces in and they’ve settled in really well.
“One of them currently lives with us as a group [Chloe Peplow] and she’s been brilliant in training too.
“It’s been really good for all of us to have some faces to freshen up the side, and it means no complacency too and a higher tempo comes in training as well.
“But we just need to take it one game at a time, focus on our jobs and see where we are at the end of this season.”