Matt Beard and his West Ham side are well prepared and looking forward to this Sunday’s game against current Women’s Super League champions Chelsea at Rush Green.
The Hammers take on Chelsea Women this weekend with the Blues sitting four places and three points above West Ham, meaning the Irons can go level on points with the Blues with a win this Sunday.
After earning their second league win of the season against Everton Ladies last Sunday, the mood in training has been very positive and Beard is looking forward to Sunday.
He told whufc.com: “Last week was a good result and it’s been a positive vibe in the camp, so we’re looking forward to inviting the champions to Rush Green.”
Despite being current WSL champions, Chelsea have not had the start they would have hoped for, as they sit eight points behind current league leaders Arsenal.
The Hammers head coach spoke about Sunday’s opponents saying: “For whatever reason they’ve just not had the luck in front of goal. They got the win against Liverpool last weekend and on Wedensday they put six past Fiorentina.
“It’s not going to be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a game that we’re prepared for and looking forward to, but it’s going to be a really tough game. We need to be positive, we want to pick up as many points at home as possible and for me, especially with the injuries we have, it’s going to be tough, but the players who have been stepping up have been doing a good job.
“They’ve got quality all over the pitch, they’ve got three very good goalkeepers, they’ve got quality and competition in each position. They’re an established team that have been challenging for honours consistently since 2014.”
Beard continued: “We need to be disciplined, we’re setting up to win the game. We’re at home and we want to be on the front foot, we want to cause them problems, but the most important thing for me is making sure we’re disciplined with our shape when we’re out of possession because they’ve got players that can hurt you.
“When we’re in possession, we’ve got some very technically gifted players, I saw glimpses in the Everton game and started to see some understanding between the players. We’re starting to really develop problem players and that’s come from lots of hard work on the training ground and competitive games where we’re building those relationships.
“I’ve always said that around October or November we should start to see that happening and we can really kick on. I think for me it’s an important game coming in to the international break and we’re hoping everyone gets through the game healthy and we get no more injuries, but from my perspective it’s a game we’re really looking forward to.”
Tickets for Sunday's 3pm kick-off at Rush Green are priced at just £8 adults, £7 over-65s and under-21s and £2 under-16s, and are available on the gate.