The Scott Rogers column: City cup test and a new-look squad

The curtain is almost about to go up on a new season for us and it goes without saying that everyone is excited for the 2016 campaign. I am so proud to be the manager of Liverpool Ladies and I have to say our preparations for the new campaign have been fantastic so far, with pre-season going really well. During the close season we took the team on their first ever overseas tour when we travelled to South Africa. That was not only an absolutely amazing experience, but it served a great purpose on and off the pitch. We made some great friends out there and the team was very well received.

We have a new-look squad this season but we have kept a good core of it with our captain Gemma Bonner signing a new contract, which was fantastic news for us. In football players come and go, but two we did lose who at the time we didn’t want to see leave were Fara Williams and Asisat Oshoala, both of whom have joined Arsenal. We couldn’t prevent them from leaving but we wish them all the best, as we do the other players who gave the club great service. I felt the squad as a whole needed freshening up. We have brought nine experienced international players in and also the average age of the squad is now down to about 23-and-a-half. We believe the squad needed revamping so with the players we have brought in now, if we can keep them together for a prolonged period and keep building on that, then I am confident we will be back to winning things again in no time.

With Natasha Dowie moving on to Doncaster Belles, we have a new No.9 this season in Swedish striker Emma Lundh. We had an idea that Emma would be interested in coming here and it was just a case of convincing her of coming to England. She is technically very good; she is physical and is fast. She is almost a complete No.9. Emma and will be a fantastic asset for us.

We start our new season with the Women’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Manchester City at our home ground, the Select Security Stadium, on Saturday evening (kick-off 5.30pm GMT). It is a tie that has to be decided on the day so it should be set for a cracking game. Everybody has said City are favourites and that suits us fine. They have spent a lot of money on a lot of big players. With spending that much money comes pressure to win things, so I don’t think there is pressure on our girls. To be fair when City drew us out of the hat I don’t think they wouldn’t have wanted to play us, especially away from home. We are looking forward to it, it’s a cup tie and anything can happen.

We then play our first WSL game of the campaign when we host Birmingham City on Wednesday night in Widnes. Everyone seems to have written ourselves and Birmingham off before a ball is even kicked and so we are both in the same boat in that regard. Make no mistake, Birmingham are a very strong team. They are very physical and technically they have some very good players. You have to be up for the battle when you play Birmingham. It’s a tough start for us but it could have been any team we played first, and as the old saying goes there are no easy games in this league.

As for our hopes and aspirations this season the first word that comes to my mind is patience. We finished second from bottom in the league last season, which wasn’t good enough. We’ve revamped the squad and when you bring in some many new players it does take them time to settle in and gel together. There will be some ups as well as downs but what we need is for people to stick by us. As always our supporters will be with us through thick and thin and we appreciate them so much. They sing their hearts out and they give the team unbelievable support. I am extremely grateful to them because they have allowed us to quietly work in the background. Our new players are really excited to play in front of them for the first time.

Thanks, as always, for your continued support.

Scott