Beard: Don't expect another rout

In what was undoubtedly the highlight of a fantastic first part of the season, Beard's charges put the reigning champions to the sword and haven't looked back since then.

Liverpool lead the Super League on goal difference from Bristol Academy and with eight games to go in the final part of the 2013 season, the Reds are hoping to go all the way and end the campaign as champions.

The Gunners might currently be fifth but they do have two games in hand and are boosted by the return from injury of key performers.

Beard has also strengthened his squad during the break with four new additions, so it should be a cracking game to get started again in front of the live BT Sport cameras.

Kick-off at the Halton Stadium is at 7pm BST, and ahead of the clash we caught up with Beard to get his thoughts ahead of the second part of the Women's Super League season.

Matt, how satisfying has it been to have enjoyed the mid-season break sitting proudly at the top of the Women's Super League table?

There's plusses and minuses to it. It stopped the momentum we had going into the break but it's also given us a good opportunity to get one or two players that were playing with niggles and injuries fully fit. I could also reassess the squad and make one or two changes as well. We are looking forward to restarting again now.

Has this season gone better than you first thought at the start of the campaign?

Yes. We always knew we had built a talented squad. We are like a new team to be perfectly honest with you and I remember Faye White describing us as virtually like a new football club. The players deserve the credit for what they have done and for how well they've settled into what we are asking them to do and they got that quite quickly. I think we are in a better position than I thought we would be, which is pleasing because it means we can re-evaluate what our targets were at the start of the season and be a little bit more ambitious going into the second half of the season.

You have been a busy manager during the summer, making four new signings. Tell us about them and why it was necessary to strengthen the squad?

We needed to strengthen the squad because we didn't have enough depth. We had a good squad to start off with but I didn't really have players who could come off the bench and change the game if we needed to. The second part of the season will be a lot tougher than the first was because everyone has had the opportunity to look at what we have done and what we are doing, and also re-evaluate and strengthen their squad, so it's important we move with the times and create competition for places right across the board. I'm now confident we have done that and the players now know that they have got to be playing at the best of their ability to keep the shirt. That is something we needed to address.

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I signed Ellie Stewart from Everton. She is nearly 17 and is going to be a good talent. In the training sessions we have had she hasn't looked out of place and she is one for the future. Katie Zelem is similar to Ellie. England have high hopes for her and she has come to us from Manchester United. She is an attacking midfielder with two good feet. She can pick a pass out and finish as well so we are excited about both of those players for the future.

I brought Kate Longhurst up from Chelsea. I signed Kate from Millwall two years ago at Chelsea and she is a very technically gifted player. She is a finisher and an aggressive player as well, which is something you don't necessarily see in the women's game. She is strong and positive, which creates competition, which is really important. Sarah Gregorious is a New Zealand international. She came from the same club as Nicole Rolser and Corina Schroder so she is coming to a club where she knows a few of the players. It gives us flexibility as she can play wide or down the middle, so we have good competition for places and it will make things interesting for the second part of the season.

You resume the Super League programme on Saturday night at your home ground, the Halton Stadium, against reigning champions Arsenal. How much is everyone looking forward to it?

We are looking forward to getting started again. It's going to be a tough game as Arsenal have got some key players back now from injury. Katie Chapman has had her third son and is back playing again, and she is definitely going to give them a massive lift. I'm expecting a tough night but we are looking forward to it and we've prepared well.

Back on May 7 you thumped Arsenal 4-0 at the Emirates - how satisfying a night was that for the club?

It was a good night and for us it wasn't a statement but it was an opportunity where we put the wrongs right from our 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat at Anfield. We were disappointed we didn't get to the final and the goals we conceded were sloppy on the night and to go to Arsenal at the Emirates and beat them 4-0 was superb. It gave us that confidence to believe in each other. We are not going to take that result for granted as they had two or three players missing that night and they had come off the back of a busy schedule playing Women's Champions League football. We took full advantage of that. It's not going to be as convincing as that result on Saturday and it will be a lot tighter.

What statement do you think that result spelt out to the rest of the league?

I just think it gave everyone a lift to be honest with you, as traditionally Arsenal have dominated the league. Birmingham pushed them all the way in the first season and last season they went to another level compared to every other team. From our end it gave the players that belief we can achieve what we want if we put our mind to it.

It's been a great story so far for Liverpool Ladies since you came to the club. You inherited a team that was bottom of the league and couldn't win a game for love or money. Now a few months on you are top of the league. How pleasing has it been?

We have all worked hard to get where we are. We released 10 or 11 players in the close season and brought 12 in. We have released another four or five in this window and got four more in. It has been a very challenging process but one thing we have got right is the player recruitment. If you look at my old club, Chelsea, they signed a similar amount of players but are struggling. It's like anything, I guess, as we have watched the players as well as watching footage of them. We make sure we bring the right character in, which is the most important thing as they have got to fit into our philosophy. It has been very challenging I have to say but at the same time, with the way things have gone, on the pitch it has been very rewarding as well.

I know every game is different but do you think that result at the Emirates make Arsenal more dangerous opponents as they will be out for revenge?

Potentially but I don't think they will think like that. For them this is a must-win game so there is a bit of pressure on them going into Saturday. If we were to win the game then we would be 11 points clear of them and they would only have two games in hand, so for both teams there is a lot at stake. Maybe we would be satisfied with a draw but at the end of the day we always want to get the three points. We want to make sure we go into next week's Continental Cup semi-final with a win and then that takes us into another challenging league game away at Bristol next Saturday. It's a tough first week back.

Are they still the team to beat?

Yes. We have made a good start and Bristol have as well and it will be interesting to see how Arsenal respond to playing catch-up as they are normally occupying the top spot. Mentally it will be interesting to see how they cope with that and we'll obviously find that out on Saturday ourselves.

You couldn't have wished for a tougher start to the league again, though, could you? Arsenal on Saturday then second-place Bristol Academy, who you lead the table from on goal difference, away on Saturday week...

I've got a lot of time for the Bristol manager, Mark Sampson, and we speak quite a lot. What I like about them is their work ethic. They have signed some very good players and their home form is generally very good. It will be a challenging second half of the season for them as they seem to be on their travels quite a bit but they will have the benefit of no midweek game where we have three games in seven days, so that will be another challenge for us.

It's so tight at the top isn't it, with you leading the way on goal difference? Do you think the title this season could easily be settled on goal difference?

Potentially yes. Our goal difference is quite good so that's working to our advantage. We have still got to play Bristol twice and they have got to play Arsenal again. Arsenal have only played four league games so it will be an interesting second half of the season.

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