'This cup tie will give us a mark of where we need to be'
Amber Whiteley sees Sunday's Vitality Women's FA Cup tie at Leicester City as an ideal barometer for Liverpool FC Women's recent impressive form.
Leicester, who have now been confirmed as FA Women's Championship winners, previously beat the Reds twice in the division this season - by a 2-1 scoreline each time.
Since the second of those defeats in mid-January, LFC Women are on a six-game unbeaten run in the Championship under interim boss Whiteley.
That excellent series of results, including four victories, earned Whiteley the Championship Manager of the Month award for March.
Now, the Reds' sights are trained on the Women's FA Cup fourth-round showdown with Leicester, which is set for a 2pm BST kick-off at Farley Way.
We caught up with Whiteley to preview the tie and reflect on the positive atmosphere building in her squad...
On being named Manager of the Month in the Championship…
I'm made up with the award and really proud to collect it on behalf of the team. It reflects all the hard work everyone has put in, every staff member, every player, and it was nice to be recognised externally as well as internally, too. When I get time to reflect on the last few months there will be lots of things to be really proud of but it's just nice to see players and staff performing to their very best and contributing to the team - and those performances are getting better each week.
On trying to lay strong foundations for next season…
My job back in January was to remove any water that was in the ship and it was to try to turn the ship around. I think we have done that and we are heading in a more positive direction now and we will be in a good place to try to challenge for that FA Women's Championship title next season.
On the behind-closed-doors game against the U21 side last weekend to keep the squad ticking over…
It was really good preparation for us leading into Sunday's game at Leicester. It was a great opportunity for our U21s, of course, to show what they are about individually and collectively against our first-team squad. It was a really competitive game and it was good to see the talent that's coming through our youth system. The future is looking bright for us.
On Missy Bo Kearns being named Player of the Month for March…
Missy Bo has been flying and she has been excellent. Every day in training and every time she steps out onto that pitch I know she is going to give absolutely everything. She is going from strength to strength and it's nice to see her playing with that belief in herself and contributing to the team performances, too.
On the consistent form showed by another youngster in Amy Rodgers…
She has a very bright future. Along with Missy Bo, you forget how young they are because they are wise beyond their years. Amy has certainly got a bright future ahead of her. She works so hard every day and she does all the right things on and off the pitch. I suppose she's the ultimate professional and she is only going to get better. She is juggling full-time education with full-time football but she gets it done because she puts the hours in, she works around the clock. I know Amy has been disappointed not to have been starting for us in the last two to three weeks but it's just competition that's keeping her out of the side. I've got no doubt that when she gets her opportunity she will take it with both hands.
On the good form of the team and the 2-0 win over Lewes FC in their last game…
Highlights: LFC Women 2-0 Lewes
I thought we started really brightly against Lewes and could have been in front before we got the goal. We just took our foot off the gas a little bit after that, which we were disappointed with, and never really got going in the second half. We scored a really good goal to seal the win from a quickly-taken free-kick and we were really pleased that we managed to get the result despite not being 100 per cent at the races. That's going to be important going forward, that we can get those results when we are not at our best.
On Sunday's Vitality Women's FA Cup tie at Leicester…
First of all, congratulations to Leicester City, deserved title winners this season. It's a brilliant benchmark for us this weekend to see where we are at individually and collectively. Going into this game it gives us a mark of where we need to be in order to be successful next season. We will be ready for that game this weekend. First and foremost, it's important that we stick to our game plan and we don't fall into Leicester's trap. They are an experienced side and they've got some experienced individuals, so we've got to stick to our plan. It's important we keep pushing on between now and the end of the season.