West Ham United Ladies must show the same mental strength that they displayed against Charlton in this Sunday’s fixture with Coventry United in order to achieve another win, according to Greg de Carnys.
The Ladies take on Coventry United this weekend at Rush Green and head into the contest in good form, having won their last two matches – a 5-0 victory against Swindon and a 3-1 away win versus league leaders Charlton Athletic.
De Carnys is delighted with how his team dealt with the separate challenges these two sides presented and has called on his team to take a similar approach with Coventry.
The first team manager told whufc.com: “The two matches we’ve played in the last few days – against Swindon and Charlton – have posed completely different tests and challenges. To come through both with all six points is immensely satisfying and now we want to continue that run this Sunday against Coventry.
"Throughout those two matches the one thing that really stood out was the determination the Ladies had to get a positive result, and how they played for each other. It’s important that we maintain that mentality against Coventry if we want to collect another three points.”
Coventry sit just one point above West Ham in the Premier League Southern Division but De Carnys is wary that the visitors to Rush Green have played a number of games fewer than West Ham and their other league rivals.
“Coventry are in a bit of a false position,” De Carnys admitted: “They have played three games less than almost every other side in the league and only Crystal Palace and Charlton have scored more goals than them.
“They are a very good side and we know the threat they will pose to us. We will have to be at our very best.”
Sunday’s match will be the Ladies third match in the space of a week, having played Swindon last Sunday and Charlton on Wednesday in a midweek encounter.
De Carnys admits the side might have benefited from a slightly longer break between the games to enjoy the wins but added that the quick turnaround is no excuse for a lack of effort this weekend.
“It might have been nice to have a couple more days in between the matches we’ve played to savour the victories, but that’s football and the girls need to be strong and prepared,” he added.
“The fans see the hard work we put in during matches but these girls also work tremendously hard during the week as well in order to improve. After Sunday’s game the Ladies will have a chance to breathe a bit and recover, both physically and mentally, but they know they need to show the same intensity and fight against Coventry as they did in our other matches.”
