LFC WomenCeri Holland on confidence, aiming higher in the WSL and West Ham test

Ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham United Women, Matt Beard’s side are just one point behind their seventh-placed hosts having played a game fewer than the Hammers.

The contest at Chigwell Construction Stadium, which kicks off at 5pm BST, is the Reds’ final fixture before the international break. Their next WSL outing is on April 23 when Brighton & Hove Albion Women visit Prenton Park.

Liverpool head into this weekend’s encounter on the back of an encouraging performance in last Friday’s 1-1 draw with Everton Women at Goodison Park.

Read on as Holland reflects on the derby and explains why Beard’s side are looking up, not down, the WSL table…

On the clash with Everton…

I think it was a really good game but obviously we were disappointed not to win it. I think that shows how far we have come as a team, to come away from Goodison Park and be frustrated with just a point. We felt we could have won the game with the disallowed goal, which obviously I was involved in. That was difficult to take because we’ve watched it back and don’t believe it’s a foul on the goalkeeper. The referee has to make the decision in the moment and it’s difficult for them as well, so it’s just one of them that we have to take and move on.

On her coming so close to a stoppage-time winner with a superb effort that was saved...

I’ve watched it back a few times and thought, ‘How has the goalkeeper saved it?’ I thought it was flying into the corner of the net and it would have been the winner, but it was a great save.

On how much she is enjoying her role in the team…

I’m really enjoying it and I think you can see that in my performances. I’ve just got to keep working hard, I’ve got so much more to learn and this is the best place to carry on learning.

On Sunday’s trip to West Ham…

It’s a really exciting game, we will go down there full of confidence off the back of two really good performances against Tottenham and Everton. It’s a great opportunity for us to jump above them in the table and then chase down Everton, so we are really excited for the weekend and can’t wait. If we can go ahead of West Ham in the table going into the international break, that will be a really good place for us to be in.

On looking to move up the WSL table...

It’s nice we are looking up rather than looking down, that’s a nice position to be in, so we are looking to put in a really good performance at the weekend. After the international break we’ve got Brighton at home and then Leicester City away, so we’d like to think we can get maximum points from them games and put ourselves in a good position - kind of where we hoped we would be at the start of the season.

There’s a lot of positivity around the training ground and around the squad and it’s a nice position to not be in the relegation battle at the moment. But the job is not done and we know that with a couple of poor performances we would be back down there. Beardy keeps our feet on the ground and says we need to keep working hard, stay focused and get as many points as we can.