Erin Simon says West Ham United are prepared for a tough battle when they take on Birmingham City Women.
The Irons will travel to Solihull Moors for Sunday’s FA Women’s Super League contest after a two-week international break.
Simon and her teammates have been working hard throughout the fortnight and the defender says, despite the squad having a few injuries, the team is ready to do everything they can to take all three points this weekend.
“The team has taken a hit in terms of injuries, and Ria [Percival] going away for the internationals, but we know that we will come together and fight through,” Simon told whufc.com. “We won’t sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. We will take the hand we’ve been dealt and do the very best we can.
It’s been a good couple of weeks and we’re focused on Birmingham City. We’re prepared for the battle this weekend.
Erin Simon
“We’ve been low on numbers but the intensity in training sessions has been kept up. It’s been a good couple of weeks and we’re focused on Birmingham City. We’re prepared for the battle this weekend.”
With four wins from their opening seven WSL matches, Birmingham currently sit third in the women’s top flight, although have only won once in their last four league matches.
Simon knows the threat the Blues will hold in Sunday’s match and believes a strong show of attacking intent from West Ham, one filled with confidence, will see the Hammers come away with a good result.
She continued: “Birmingham are a very aggressive team who are having a great season so far. They don’t concede too many goals either. They like to play out a bit and perhaps sometimes they can overplay a little bit, which means we might be able to put them under some pressure, force a couple of mistakes and transition on them.
“Ultimately, we need to focus on ourselves though. We need to drive at them, attack them, and show what we can do. We need to put them on the back foot and be at our very best.”
The clash with Birmingham is the first of West Ham’s four final league matches of 2018, and Simon is confident that the Hammers can take points from each of those games.
The No3 knows that climbing the table and winning as many matches as possible is of vital importance as the side looks to head into the festive break on a positive.
“We want to win every game,” Simon added. “That winning feeling is the best, as we felt against Everton, and we’re itching for that winning feeling again. We’re going to really go for it and do everything we can to take the points.
“I feel like all four league games coming up are games we can win. It’s crucial we get some points out of them, heading into the Christmas break, so we’re in the best place possible, and can then take some momentum into the second half of the season.”