Everton Women: Willie Kirk targets maximum points from remaining WSL fixtures
Goodison News editor Elliott Cuff reporting from Friday’s pre-match press conference…
Everton Women manager Willie Kirk explains that his side must cement fifth place in the Women’s Super League as they head into their final five games.
Everton travel to Brighton on Sunday as they look to get back to winning ways, while the home side will hope to take their recent winning run to five victories on the spin.
The Seagulls could move within two points of the Toffees if they win on Sunday, so a win for Everton will prove crucial in their fight to solidify fifth.
Goodison News attended Kirk’s pre-match press conference, and the manager was keen to stress the importance of picking up as many points as possible from now on.
When asked what he was hoping to see from the final five games, Kirk said: “15 points. We go into every game wanting to win it, and I’m not saying we’re going to win it but we certainly approach every game the same way.
“If we’re successful on Sunday it’ll be 12 points, and if we’re successful against Villa it’ll just keep going. We want to finish as high up as possible.
“We obviously need to cement fifth place, that was the minimum requirement, so we need to hit that minimum requirement but accumulate as many points as possible. Our points per game has to be higher than last season’s points per game if we’re going to see tangible progress.
“It’s a little reminder that we are heading in the right direction, because there are elements of the season that we’re disappointed with, but we’ve still got a chance to finish really strongly, and hopefully get through a few rounds of the FA Cup as well.”
Crucial clash could prove difficult
Kirk possesses the correct mentality going into Everton’s final few games of the season, because the club should absolutely be targeting maximum points.
Sandy MacIver is back fit and ready to play, meaning Everton will only really miss one first-team regular in Dan Turner as they face a resurgent Seagulls.
Brighton got off to a terrible start to the year in January, with their 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City the worst of three poor results, but since then they have been the form team in the WSL.
They even managed to hand league leaders Chelsea their only defeat of the season in early February, so at the very least Brighton have proven to be unpredictable customers who Everton must take serious.
With fifth place still the priority, Everton would be wise to treat their final five games like five cup finals. Every point is precious, and should Kirk solidify the club’s current league position he’ll have undeniably achieved a season of progression on Merseyside.
In other Everton news, Roma defender Gianluca Mancini could prove to be a difficult target for Everton this summer.