‘We want to win the league, there’s no secret’ – Phillips on London City Lionesses’ title hopes | OneFootball

A New Year is often a time for new beginnings and new opportunities, a time to start afresh, unburdened by what has come before but for Melissa Phillips and her London City Lionesses side, they will be looking for more of the same in 2022.

The capital club currently sit third in the FA Women’s Championship table, within touching distance of the promotion spot and qualification to the promised land of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.

Phillips and her players return to action this weekend when they travel to managerless Watford. When speaking in her pre-match press conference, Phillips said that the groundwork has already been laid out in the Lionesses camp and that the players are feeling refreshed ahead of the restart.

“Preparations have been great since resuming over the winter break,” Phillips said when speaking to FAWSL Full-Time.

“I think it was a nice time for everyone to get home and see family and have a little bit of a rest period with it being a long season.”

The Lionesses haven’t played a competitive fixture since they beat Birmingham City on penalties in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup on 15 December, signalling a spell of nearly an entire month with playing a match. Phillips isn’t concerned about any potential lack of match sharpness, in fact, she and her team are revelling in the time that they have been offered.

She said “It’s always exciting in the camp, we love the weeks that we don’t have games, despite not having something to prepare for on the Sunday.

“We really get to focus on ourselves and look at it from an individual and small group standpoint and have some fun in there as well.

“It’s always an exciting feeling (to prepare for a match) and we’re super hungry to get back out this Sunday and face Watford.”

Following the recent departure of Watford boss Clinton Lancaster, there now contains an element of uncertainty within the Hertfordshire club, not only regarding long term leadership but also how the side might set up on Sunday. Phillips said that she is more than aware of the unknown element that a managerial change can present.

“It always creates a bit of an unknown sense about a manager changing and what form they might come into the weekend with,” Phillips said. “Personnel hasn’t changed, so we’ll prepare for the personnel and the strengths within what we know we’ll see against Watford.”

“It’s an opportunity to do what we love and that’s focus on ourselves. If we go in every Sunday and we put in a performance that matches our expectations, then we know we’ll put ourselves in the best position for success.”

That success will not come easy though, as London City Lionesses learnt the last time that they faced Watford back in October. A Helen Ward goal put The Golden Girls ahead before The Pride came from behind to take all three points, thanks to goals from Brooke Nunn and Annie Rossiter. Watford have already taken points off the likes of Lewes, Crystal Palace, and Sunderland so far this season and Phillips is well aware of the unpredictability of the FA Women’s Championship.

She said “We always have to prepare like the next match is going to be our toughest and that’s what we do each week, we stay focussed on our team objectives and where we can potentially exploit the opposition.”

As is tradition, it is customary at the start of a New Year to make resolutions for the remainder of the season ahead and there is only one objective that is on Phillips and the players’ minds right now.

“We want to win the league, there’s no secret,” Phillips said. “Midnight rolled around on the 31st and that was what was going through our team thread.

“It’s a big year ahead, it’s a big opportunity for us. We have to take things day-by-day, but we know we’re capable of continuing to challenge for that top spot.”

As we move into 2022, the FA Women’s Championship is shaping up to be the closest in recent memory with just four points separating first and third place while teams below London City Lionesses will be hoping to claw their way into the title race. Consequently, The Pride know that any slip up will be punished and that any victory could prove crucial. They say the best way to begin a New Year is to start it as you mean to go on, therefore, the best start for Phillips and her side would be to claim all three points at the weekend and continue their charge for first place.