While it was a positive international break for West Ham United women’s team, Rehanne Skinner insisted her players are itching to return to Barclays Women’s Super League action away at Manchester City on Saturday.
A record 20 Hammers were called up by their respective countries, including Anouk Denton and Shekiera Martinez, who received their first call-ups to England and Germany’s senior squads respectively.
Keeping up with those Irons on international duty was a busy task for Skinner and her staff, who worked hard at Chadwell Heath training ground with the remainder of the squad ahead Saturday’s test against the Citizens at the Joie Stadium.
Andrée Jeglertz’s new-look side, who have won their previous five league fixtures, will provide a tough test for the Hammers, who head into the clash looking to be positive in both penalty areas, as Skinner explained in her pre-match press conference.
Also on the agenda on Thursday afternoon was discussing the mood within the squad ahead of the second block of fixtures and the positive news that midfielder Jess Ziu returned to the Republic of Ireland set-up for the first time after she recovered from the second anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) of her career.
Here are the main talking points…
Mood in the camp
Resetting was important for us. The opportunity to go and have a different environment helps people. All the players have been really keen to come back in, though. I’ve had lots of messages saying, ‘I can’t wait to come back’ and, ‘Looking forward to playing at the weekend’.
As a collective, we want to make sure the next set of games are effective for us and that we get points out of the games. Everyone’s on the same page with that. The players are looking forward to the opportunity to step up and do that job.
Mindset going into Manchester City
We worked really hard to get a point out of them last time at home. There were parts of that game where we felt like we could have had more, and that provides the team with confidence. When we’re functioning at our best, we’re in a position to compete with those teams and make life hard for them.
They’ve made subtle changes to their set-up under the new manager and that’s going to be a test for us. Away from home, we want to make sure we’re as hard to beat as possible, and we want to give a good account of ourselves.
Life at Chadwell Heath during the international break
We played internally before the international break, so we were still in as normal. We had the highest number of internationals that we’ve ever had, and Anouk [Denton] and Shekiera [Martinez] got their call-ups to senior national teams for the first time. We’ve had loads of positives with the players who have gone away.
It’s difficult to track [all the international games] and we share the load a bit amongst the technical staff. It’s important to get across what the players are doing. I don't talk to the players too much when they're on international camp, as it's important for them to focus on what they're doing. But after they've played, it’s good to be able to chat over the positives they’ve had in their games.
The players who have been here have had the opportunity to work on their individual bits that will contribute to their own successes, ready to be switched on for the game this weekend. The attitude of the players here has been fantastic.
Being positive in both boxes
We’ve had some good performances in the league, we just haven’t been able to get it over the line. Sometimes luck’s not quite with you, you don’t quite get the rub of the green, and then things turn when you’ve been dominating a game. It doesn’t mean to say performances haven’t been good in those games.
The biggest thing for us is the focus is on being consistent over the course of the 90 minutes, and being a little bit more positive in both boxes. I think we’ve stifled people’s opportunity to play and defended really well in a lot of games, but come unstuck by moments of magic a couple of times.
Jess Ziu’s Republic of Ireland return
The purpose of Jess's loan to Bristol City was to build her back into more gametime. We’re delighted that she got called back up to Ireland and she’s in a position where she’s coming back into form, and getting more and more minutes.
For Jess, she always loves to get in that environment [with the national team], and Jessie Stapleton played all of both legs, and is becoming a really solid part of their starting line-up, which is fantastic to see. We’re really pleased with the progress both of them are making.
Jess is a fantastic player, who has had terrible luck with injuries. When she’s fully fit, we know what she’s capable of doing and the loan spell was to help to aid the end stage of her rehab. It’s a huge boost for her confidence to have played for Bristol City and then getting back into the international side. She’s someone we speak to a lot. She’s doing well with everything Bristol City are wanting her to do, their support has been fantastic as well.
