The Scott Rogers column: A thank you to our wonderful supporters

It goes without saying that we can’t wait to get back out on the pitch in front of our brilliant home supporters again when we host Sunderland (kick-off 5.30pm BST). Because of the postponement of the Chelsea game and the international break, we haven’t played a league game since March 23 when we got our first win against Birmingham City. I’ve said on numerous occasions the WSL could be structured better in terms of the fixtures and how far apart the games are, but every manager is in the same boat and we can only just get on with it. The positives are that we have got five games now to play before the next international break, so it gives us a chance to really get to know each other as a team and there are plenty of points to play for.

We managed to sort out a friendly game last weekend when we visited Sheffield Ladies and recorded a 4-2 victory. I’m really close with a lot of people connected with Sheffield Ladies and I know their manager really well. We were really grateful to them for the opportunity of a game to get some much-needed match fitness. They try and play the right way and that was the opponent we wanted ahead of the resumption of the WSL.

We have only played two games so far but it was vital for us that we got the 1-0 win over Birmingham City in our last game. This is a new team and it will take time for us to gel but there were some very encouraging signs in that game. I felt we were the better team, we controlled the game for long periods and even when we went down to 10 players it had little effect. I never felt we were going to concede and thought it was an outstanding team performance. I was delighted that Shanice Van de Sanden was able to get off the mark because she is a very exciting player who will give us a new dimension in attack. We have got a young and talented squad this season and we have seen in glimpses of the Manchester City and Birmingham City matches that we have the potential to be a very good side. Of course, common sense prevailed in the end when Mandy Van Den Berg had her sending off rescinded. It wasn’t a sending off and Mandy is a very important player for us.

We welcome Sunderland on Saturday and they beat us in Widnes last season. They finished fourth in the WSL, they have a strong squad, and they will be confident of a getting a positive result again. Sunderland will probably think they are favourites but we don’t mind that. There’s no pressure on us this year and we are just going to enjoy playing our football and see where it takes us.

I would like to end this column by paying tribute to our wonderful supporters, who we know will be singing their hearts out on Saturday night and on Wednesday when we host Chelsea. They followed us to Sheffield for the friendly last week and I couldn’t believe it. They were singing and cheering us on and they are so loyal. I don’t know how much they realise but both myself and the players really appreciate their continued support and never take it for granted. They know themselves we are on the start of a new journey and there will be some ups and downs but they will stick with us and we can’t praise them enough.

Thanks as always for your continued support.

Scott