Interviews

Merricks: Exciting prospects lie ahead

Albion return to league action on Sunday.

By Heather Miller • 26 March 2023

By Paul Hazlewood
Albion ready for Reading league clash

After securing our place in the Women's FA Cup semi-final last week on the road against Birmingham City, Albion will return to WSL duty this weekend as they face Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

A victory away from home on Sunday will move us up to tenth place, as we look to pull away from Leicester at the bottom of the table.

Interim boss Amy Merricks said ahead of Sunday's match, "Every game is a big game, no matter what competition we're in. I keep saying it but we want to create a winning environment and mentality in this team. So we're going into every game diligently prepared with the same attitude, we do the same things with the same intent.

"What's been working well the past few weeks is that everyone has been working on what we can control in terms of our performances and preparations on what we're doing on the pitch - we've got to keep doing that. 

04:53

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Merricks's Reading press conference

"Every game is important, we know where we are in the league and we as a group are completely focussed on when we get out on the pitch on Sunday, to display ourselves in the best light and help us climb the table.

"I've said before but this team are more than capable of competing in this league, we know what we need to do to get those performances, like against Manchester City. We'll be looking to repeat that this weekend, but we know what we need to do to compete.

"My job at this time is purely to make sure that this team climb the table, I think the resilience of this group is incredible and I'm enjoying the opportunity to lead the team, but it's not about me, it's about the team.

"We are here to facilitate and I want to amplify the strengths of the group, we've got momentum showing and we've just got to continue with that."

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WSL Highlights: Albion 2 Reading 1

Following Monday's draw, Albion will face Manchester United away in the semi-finals of the Vitality Women's FA Cup on Sunday 16 April.

Merricks reflected on the draw as the squad will prepare to face Mark Skinner's side twice, either side of the international break. 

She added, "It's just great to be in the semi-final, no matter who we were drawn against we were just excited to have that opportunity to be 90 minutes away from an FA Cup final alongside the men's first team.

"I think that it's bold statement for the club to be in that position, it's also really nice to give back to the fans. There's no doubt about it that we need to make sure that we perform on that day, we're excited about the prospects that lie ahead of us in the FA Cup."