‘We need to win the game’ – Beard previews Liverpool’s fixture against Arsenal

Liverpool head coach Matt Beard says that his side need to win this afternoon’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Arsenal and that they will do everything in their power to get the three points.

The Reds face The Gunners in their final game of the calendar year in St Helens. Liverpool go into the game in seventh place in the Barclays Women’s Super League table while Arsenal are third.

It has been a tough first half of the season for Liverpool, The Reds have struggled to string together a run of results while injuries have played a part. When speaking to the media ahead of this afternoon’s fixture against Arsenal, Liverpool boss Beard said that his side need to go into the Christmas break with a win.

“We’ve taken 18 points off that top group over the last two of years and that’s because we’ve had a go,” Beard said. “We’re the only club that’s done that outside of that top-three, so we know we can do it.

“We’ve had a tough first half of the season which has been a little bit out of everyone’s control to a certain extent, but we’re not going to go into the game just to sit off them; we want to win the game, we need to win the game, so we’re going to have to go.”

Beard went on to discuss his side’s form in the first half of the season and highlighted the fact that The Reds haven’t had too many blips during his tenure.

He said “This is the first time in four years that we’ve had a bit of a blip. We’ve gone from the Championship to the Super League, where we finished seventh. We then finished fourth. We’re not a million miles away from that top group and to be perfectly honest with you, if we can achieve a top-six finish this year, that’d be another achievement.”

Liverpool have a four-week break before their next game and Beard explained the players’ schedule for that period.

He said “We break up next Wednesday and the players will be back in on the 31st [of December]. We have a friendly pencilled in for the 5th [of January] and then we have the FA Cup the week after.

“The players will be home with their families and loved ones to celebrate Christmas and have a well-earned break. They will have a programme to follow but there will be some downtime as well, so that they can have that mental switch-off, recover and look forward to the second half of the season.”

Liverpool’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Arsenal kicks-off at 2.30pm this afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.