London City Lionesses taking Fulham test very seriously insists Prêcheur

London City Lionesses head coach Jocelyn Prêcheur says that his side will be taking nothing for granted against Fulham this afternoon.

The Pride travel to Craven Cottage to contest an Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie. While London City Lionesses hope to reach the Barclays Women’s Super League this season, opponents Fulham play their football much further down the pyramid in the London and South East Women’s Regional Football League.

There is a huge gulf in quality between the two sides, however, London City Lionesses boss Prêcheur says that his side will take nothing for granted in West London this afternoon.

“We always prepare for every game seriously, there’s no exception for Fulham,” Prêcheur told WSL Full-Time. “One of our analysts has analysed them very deeply over the last few weeks and I have done the same.

“This competition is so special because anything can happen. If we want to reach the next stage, we need to remain professional and give the best version of ourselves on the pitch. This is the mindset I want to have in my team for every game.”

The two sides are expected to be cheered on by a bumper crowd at Craven Cottage and Prêcheur admits that he is grateful that his side will be playing at a Premier League venue.

He said “We are very grateful to have the opportunity to play at Craven Cottage. The history of the stadium is very special and it’s good to potentially have more people watching the game. To have a professional environment for a women’s game is just wonderful. Both teams have possession-based styles of play, so the pitch will help. 

“It’s perfect that we have this opportunity. I am just very grateful and excited to play in such a famous stadium.”

Going on to discuss his side’s aims in this season’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup, Prêcheur doesn’t want to rule out a Wembley final but says that London City Lionesses will take things game-by-game.

He said “If I say Wembley then you’d say I’m arrogant and you’d probably be right but if I say another answer, it would seem like I don’t believe in my team. It’s a hard one to answer but I would say that we want to go as far as possible. It depends on many things but this is why the competition is so special.

“I am very proud to play in the FA Cup. As a foreigner, this is a competition that I’ve followed for many years. 

“Before talking about the future, we need to beat Fulham, that’s the priority otherwise, I don’t need to talk about anything else. If we are serious, play well and win, we will take it game-by-game. 

“This is a competition where I want to use all of the resources that I have. If we qualify for the next round and play a top team like Chelsea or Arsenal, we will do our best to beat them even if the gap is huge. If we don’t believe in ourselves and believe that we can do it, there’s no need to play the game.”

London City Lionesses’ Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Fulham kicks-off at 12pm.