LFC WomenMatt Beard column: Leicester reflections and a big week ahead

It was a bad day at the office for us on Saturday and there is no getting away from that – it simply wasn’t good enough.

We knew going into the game Leicester needed to win this game and the pressure was on them, but we just made it far too easy for them and losing 4-0 is hard to take.

We didn’t turn up and I am desperately disappointed, angry, upset, because we have had a lot of fans who have given up their time to come down and watch us again and we couldn’t even do the basics right on the day. Uncharacteristic or not, it’s not acceptable and I have told the players that.

Going into Saturday’s game we still had 15 points left to play for. We will get to the bottom of why it happened, but it can’t happen again because if we do that against Chelsea and Manchester City then it’s going to be two long 90 minutes of football.

We prepared the players all week and they knew they would be up against a side that would be fighting for their lives and would be physical.

We told the players they had to move the ball quickly and their movement had to be good, but right the way across the board it wasn’t good enough. The players know that and they want to put things right quickly.

If we do the basics right in any game of football then we’ve got a chance. If we show that commitment and that intent then we have half a chance. You don’t go on the run that we’ve been on without putting in that work ethic. We will analyse the clips from what happened on Saturday and we need to get to the bottom of why we put in a performance like that.

We need to bounce back quickly because we have got Chelsea next on Wednesday night and then we host Manchester City at Prenton Park on Sunday.

I am expecting a response and expecting a reaction on Wednesday night. We can’t put in a performance like we did on Saturday against a Chelsea side who are one of the best teams in world club football.

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We’ve got to make sure we get the basics right and get back to the work ethic that has been our DNA throughout the course of this season.

We have done well against Chelsea this season and even in that 10 minutes we played before the [original away] game got abandoned we could have been 1-0 or 2-0 up.

I don’t think any player needs any extra motivation to play against these top teams because everyone wants to showcase their ability.

We found that last season in the Women’s Championship when teams were coming to us and it was hard because they sat off us and we had to be patient and get through it, so we need to do the basics right and put in a hard-working performance.

We have shown in the last couple of months despite a stop-start schedule that we can put a run together and we can be consistent, but at no point can we take our foot off the gas.

It doesn’t matter where we are in the league table, there’s points to play for and we have a massive input into the end of the season because we play Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, who are all going for the WSL title.

Looking at Reading’s result at the weekend, we have 19 points, which is more than enough for safety and I know that, but we have to make sure we are professional and put in professional performances, because at the end of the day that’s our job.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

YNWA,

Matt

Matt Beard was speaking to Liverpoolfc.com's Steve Hunter