The Gemma Bonner column: Let's end the season on a high

It’s fair to say we were unhappy about our performance in our last game when we lost at Reading, so we want to finish the season on a high in front of our own supporters on Sunday. First of all, we must say congratulations to Chelsea, who won the Women’s Super League title and deserve it because they have been the most consistent team. Chelsea are one of the top sides in Europe, they have shown that, and for me they are one of the hardest teams we have played against this season in terms of the quality they have got on the pitch, on their bench, and indeed throughout their squad. It’s not going to be easy for us but for us it’s a chance to show what we are all about as a team and end the season on a positive note.

It's our final game of the season and we can’t wait to play at Tranmere Rovers again. Last time we played there was against Everton in the derby and apart from the fact we could only take a point everyone enjoyed playing there. We put in a good performance against Everton but just couldn’t get the win we felt we deserved. It has been a long season for the girls and it has been a difficult one at times but we want to put on a good performance for our fantastic supporters who have been with us all season. They have been with us week in, week out signing their hearts out for us, and we can’t ask any more from them. We are proud to have such passionate supporters and we just want to give them something to cheer about.

We had two contrasting results in our previous games when we beat Manchester City but then lost away at Reading. Everyone was delighted with the result we got against City and I thought we thoroughly deserved it with the performance the girls put in. We gave it everything we had and we got the rewards. We then had a quick turnaround to get ready again for Reading and we came up short. With having such a small squad it has been difficult at times, especially with the number of injuries we have picked up, and it places a lot of pressure on the players plus demands on the body, and I think it was just too much for us at Reading. They are a very good side and a very well organised side but we have to be honest and say we were disappointed with our performance.

Unfortunately on Sunday we will be without Bethany England who of course has been with us on loan this season from Chelsea. Beth finished as our top scorer with 14 goals and she did very well for us. She has added goals to this team, she is still young and the season has also been a good learning curve for her in terms of getting regular game time she needed. We certainly wish her all the best when she goes back to Chelsea.

Finally, it was an absolute honour for me to be named Liverpool Ladies Player of the Season at the 2018 Players’ Awards. It has been an up and down season for me and I think there were a lot of other players who deserved accolades on the night as well. We were delighted for Sophie Ingle who was named Ladies Players’ Player of the Season. Sophie has been absolutely brilliant and one of our most consistent performers. It has been a tough season in many ways but the only thing we can do is learn from it. We have got a young and exciting group of players and we want to push on and keep growing as a football club and make sure we come back stronger.