Boss on derby and Father's Day promotion
Ahead of Tuesday night's Merseyside derby against Everton, we caught up with Matt Beard, manager of top-of-the-table Liverpool Ladies.
With Father's Day on June 16, the ladies are planning a special promotion for Saturday's home clash against Birmingham City with a chance for the family to see some quality football from just £1.
Before all thoughts turn to Birmingham, however, Beard's side are in action tonight when they face Everton in the ladies' derby at Marine FC's Aviva Stadium in Crosby. Kick-off is at 7.30pm BST.
Liverpool Ladies are currently top of the Women's Super League on goal difference from Bristol Academy and a victory on Tuesday night over their local rivals could see them go seven points clear of the Blues.
However, Beard is not a man who deals in complacency and expects his team to keep up their good level of consistency...
First of all Matt, it was a thrilling game last time out against Lincoln when you came from behind to win 3-2 - how pleased were you with the victory and the performance?
It was a good performance, overall. We saw a different side of the team's character, a game that we were quite comfortable in. Precious Hamilton scored a goal out of nothing to give Lincoln the lead and it was a good finish. We had to dig deep to get the three points and see the game out. We haven't really had to do that this season, so it was good for me to see that side of our team.
Top of the Women's Super League then on goal difference - not a bad start...
We have been pleased with how things are progressing. There's always room for improvement and we are striving to do that as a group, but if you'd said to me that we would have had nine points out of a possible 12 so far I would have probably taken that with it being such a new group of players.
Goal machine Natasha Dowie took her tally to eight goals in 10 games. She has been some signing for you so far...
Tasha has been brilliant all season. We create chances and she scores goals. We new she would score a lot of goals for us but her work-rate for the team has been second to none, especially when we are under a bit of pressure and she holds the ball up and brings other players into the game. She has been a great signing and fingers crossed that continues.
Three wins out of four in the Women's Super League - that must be a pleasing start considering this is a brand new team you have put together in such a short space of time?
The players have been a god send to work with, to be honest with you. Their eagerness to want to improve and to learn has been superb. They are a great group to work with. I think we are a little bit ahead of where I thought we would be, which is pleasing. We've got the break coming up after Saturday and as long as we can go into that break there or there abouts then we have got a great chance in the second half of the season to maybe cause a surprise this year.
We must mention that 4-0 win against Arsenal at the Emirates recently - that surprised a lot of people nationwide - but I imagine you weren't that surprised personally...
No. We felt confident going into the game. When we lost to them in the FA Cup semi-final at Anfield we learned a lot from that, especially the players' understanding in how we are looking to play and what we are looking to do. After that night the penny finally dropped. It was a good performance at the Emirates and we rode our luck at times on the night, but then again so did Arsenal and the scoreline could have been about 8-4 to us! That happens in football sometimes and it was a great win. We know what a good group we have got. For me I've never gone into a game against Arsenal thinking we would definitely win the game, especially in their own back yard, and so it was a great night.
What message did that result - and indeed performance - send out?
We are not really concentrating on what is going on around us and as long as we are picking points up and playing as well as we know we can then that's the most important thing to us as a group. Arsenal haven't been beaten by that scoreline for as long as I can remember domestically, but we just want to concentrate on us and not other teams. If we are winning football matches then our destiny is in our own hands.
The derby next up with Everton - how much are you looking forward to that?
We can't wait. We played them in the Cup and drew 1-1 in what was our first game together as a group and we've come a long way since then. In derby games form does go out of the window completely, especially with what's at stake for both sides. We've got players who have come in from Everton and there's a couple gone the other way from us to them, so it's going to be an interesting evening. As long as we are committed and do the right thing then I'm confident we can get the three points.
You drew with the Blues in the very first game of the season in what can best be described as awful conditions on a frozen pitch - how different do you expect Tuesday's encounter to be?
I think so and we will be playing on grass this time. Looking at the forecast, the weather is going to be quite nice so it will be a good opportunity for us to show our ability and I'm confident if we stick to the game plan that we can continue with our good form and put pressure on the other teams.
Aside from the local rivalry what are you looking for on the night from your team?
Any time we play we are looking for the players to be committed and they've got to work hard with and without the ball. Anyone coming to watch our team will see that. They wear the shirt with pride and we've got some really good footballers in our team. We play some really good football and create numerous chances. The most important thing is to get the three points. In our last game against Lincoln we were in control of the game and we should have won it by a bigger margin. They pulled it back to 3-2 and we had to dig deep for the three points, but as long as we get the points on Tuesday night that's the most important thing.
You then finish the first part of the Women's Super League campaign with a home clash with Birmingham at the Halton Stadium on Saturday night - and you are doing a special promotion. Tell us about that...
It's the week before Father's Day so we are promoting that a week early. Season ticket holders can come for free anyway, the other dads can come in half price and the kids can come in for £1. We are having a father and daughter day. I'm bringing my little girl along as well so it will be a good evening. We try to play in the right way and we spent a lot of time getting the recruitment process right at the start of the season. Anyone coming along to watch us for the first time will be impressed by the football we play and also the commitment that they give. We have got some really good characters in the team as well as some really good technically gifted players, so I think anyone coming to watch will be pleasantly surprised and hopefully it will encourage them to come back as well.