‘We have to pick ourselves up and go again’ – Chelsea boss Hayes previews Aston Villa fixture | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that her side must pick themselves up and go again as they prepare to face Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow this evening.

The Blues, who are second in the Barclays Women’s Super League table, face an Aston Villa side that are currently occupying seventh in their latest fixture.

Chelsea will be looking to return to winning ways this evening after their Adobe Women’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United on Sunday. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Hayes said that there is no panic after the club’s cup exit.

“Everyone always takes a defeat as something that’s catastrophic but it’s normal,” Hayes said. “You win some, you lose some and you draw some. We’re doing this all of the time.”

Despite some tough moments in recent cup defeats to Arsenal and Manchester United, Hayes remains proud of her players and she hopes that they will get the reception that they deserve at Kingsmeadow this evening.

She said “I keep reminding the players of how well they’ve done over such a long period of time and how proud I am of how we keep pushing at the back end of everything.

“I want us to enjoy it; playing in front of our fanbase that I truly hope appreciate this group of players. I believe this team, over a number of years, has delivered so much success for this football club and for these fans. Sometimes, I feel the players are taken for granted. I want our fans to show their appreciation for them.

“I only care about the fans. I care that they realise the level of success we have had is difficult to do all the time, to keep winning and winning. I’m proud that we keep doing that even if it doesn’t always go our way. We have to pick ourselves up and go again.”

Discussing her expectations from Aston Villa, Hayes stated that she anticipates a defensive approach with a low block and a focus on counter-attacking.

She said “I expect five-three-two in a low block with Rachel [Daly] in the 10 and two nines that are going to hit us on the counter.

“I expect Aston Villa to come here and make it really difficult for us.”

Speaking about her players’ mindset towards the remaining games, Hayes says that winning is important but nobody should get too downhearted if things don’t go their way.

“They’re a fantastic group of people that are trying their very best in a Chelsea shirt to try and win games,” Hayes said. “It doesn’t always work out but it’s not the end of the world, just go again.

“We’ve done a lot of winning. It’s not like we don’t know what that feels like and there’s still a way to go. We still want two competitions and we have to commit to that in much the same way as we have done everything else and show up.”

Chelsea’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Aston Villa kicks-off at 7pm this evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.