Women's

Merricks: We'll stay in the WSL

Interim head coach positive despite defeat to league leaders.

By Heather Miller • 02 April 2023

By Kyle Hemsley
Amy Merricks has had two spells as interim first-team head coach this season.

Interim head coach Amy Merricks is confident Albion can secure their place in the WSL after a battling performance against leaders Manchester United.

A double from Leah Galton helped see Marc Skinner's side secure all three points after a 4-0 victory at the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday, with Albion conceding twice in the last five minutes and give the scoreline a harsh look for the hosts. 

"At 2-0 we made a decision, we decided to have a go," she said. "Rightly or wrongly, I think that opened up more opportunities for them as well as gaining opportunities for us. I think that we'd rather do that at this stage than not." 

"We had a real foot hold in the game for a large period of time, so we'll reflect positively on that. There's a reason that Manchester United are top of the league, they showed that on Saturday but we competed well for a large period."

By Kyle Hemsley
Veatriki Sarri stretches the United defence.

Despite the tough run of matches recently which has seen Albion play three of the top four in their last four games, Merricks insisted that the team will remain in the Women's Super League. 

She added, "We'll adapt the strategy to what we feel is needed. For me, we need to be flexible and adaptable to try and be clever to get something from these games. We'll stay in this league, there's no doubt about it. these players are capable."

The sides meet again on 15 April in the FA Cup semi-finals.