Matt Beard on transfer plans, Melwood move, Lawley update and more
Matt Beard has outlined Liverpool FC Women's plans in the summer transfer window and for the season ahead.
The Reds are looking to build on their encouraging 2022-23 campaign that resulted in a seventh-placed finish on their return to the Barclays Women's Super League.
Beard spoke to Liverpoolfc.com to discuss the team's future objectives, having Melwood as a new training base, and the fitness of Melissa Lawley and Leanne Kiernan.
Read on to see what the boss had to say…
On building on last season...
I think we had a good season in the end last year. We had a tough start but I think you can see how we grew as the season went on. You rip it up, you start again. We have ambitions at this football club to challenge. We know it's not going to happen overnight but we've had a good start back in the WSL and now it's about kicking on again. Everton and Aston Villa had a good season last year and then obviously you've got the top four, which long term is our aspiration. As I'm always saying, we want to compete and do as well as we can – but next year is about improving on last year and trying to break into that five and six and see how far that can take us.
On how many players he's looking to bring in this summer…
We're probably looking at five, seven max. It'd pretty much be like for like. Obviously we've had Lucy Parry out last year on loan at Hibernian. She had a fantastic season, so we're bringing Lucy back in with a year's experience under her belt now and obviously winning Player of the Year there, so it sums up the performance level that she put in there. We're looking at probably no more than seven. What we want to try to make sure we do [is] to improve the depth of the squad so it raises the standards in training, it raises the competition for places. I think, for me, that's the most important thing.
On the club creating an elite training facility for LFC Women at Melwood...
Unbelievable. For us, it's game-changing. The Campus has been good to us – we have outgrown it as a staff and as a team. When I was here the first time when Brendan [Rodgers] was manager, I used to go down to Melwood, I used to watch training and it's such an iconic place. For that to be our base and our home is fantastic. Really grateful for the support of the club for that because it's a big investment. But for us, as I said, it's going to be game-changing and we can really take the team to the next level with what we've got there.
On Kiernan, who is part of the Republic of Ireland's pre-Women's World Cup training camp...
I think for Leanne obviously it was a tough season, bless her. She worked incredibly hard to get back at the back end. I think for her it's about just making sure she's comfortable, she's fit. I was really, really pleased with her fitness levels when she came back into training, so the medical team deserves a lot of credit for that. For everyone involved in the World Cup it's going to be a great experience and I wish everyone luck.
On Lawley's rehabilitation from a hip injury...
She won't be ready for the start [of the season]. We're probably looking [at] November I think, so not a million miles away. I think that's why she decided to get the operation when she did. She's working hard obviously with Unders [sports therapist Chris Underwood] in the off-season. I think she was frustrated last year because we just couldn't pinpoint what it was. It took numerous scans to find out exactly what it was. We got there in the end. Just for Mel, she's got a high pain threshold, she could get through games, but it just got to a point where it was so uncomfortable. She was a big loss [at] the back end of the season because you look at that December-January period, she was excellent. Hopefully she'll be back [in] November – but knowing Mel, she'll probably be back before.