Elena Sadiku: Players have the heart, mindset and passion to succeed | OneFootball

Like their male counterparts, the Celtic FC Women's team face three league games over the coming week - home, away, then finishing at Celtic Park - and also like the men, somewhere in among that trio of matches, the league title could be won.

However, this week has been just as important to the run-in, with Monday afternoon’s 0-0 draw away to Rangers setting up a thrilling finale for Elena Sadiku and her team.

That point maintained their position at the top of the SWPL table, thanks to a 13-goal gap in the 'goal difference' column.

Now the Ghirls face Partick Thistle at the Excelsior Stadium this Sunday (May 12) before a trip to the Oriam to play Hearts on Wednesday, and then the final game of the campaign at Paradise when they host Hibernian the following Sunday.

Speaking ahead of the Partick Thistle game, the Head Coach looked back at the May Day deadlock derby and said: “After the game we were in the position where we wanted to be, and that was still at the top of the league.

“We were saying that we’ve got the job done and now we have three games left, so it’s all about recovery.

“It’s all about getting away to then come in today and make sure we’re on top of it and that we’re hungry to do more."

She added: “What we have is a group of people who have a big heart, who are incredible people.

"But also since I came here, my thing as a coach is that  it’s not only about the experience, it’s not only about what it says on their back and what they’ve done, it’s about seeing potential and seeing what we can do.

“When you have the heart and you have the mind-set, and you have technical, tactical and physical ability, it’s more about me as a manager or head coach to make sure that their full potential grows out.

"I can say that there are many players who have been growing and have been more confident, and that’s what I want to do.’

“But I can’t do it without the players’ hearts and heads, and that’s something I think we have.

"Every day I come here I’m so excited to see them to get going and do another day with them. So, that’s something I really, really love with this team."

And on the three games over the coming week, she said: “It’s one game at one time. We’re only going to focus on Partick Thistle on Sunday.

"The training that we have today, tomorrow and Saturday, that's only going to be about how we are prepared for the game.

“Partick Thistle have been doing great. We’ve had some good results against them, but it’s more about what we can do now that’s going to matter, and, for me, that’s the biggest challenge right now – Partick Thistle on Sunday.”

Fixtures

Celtic Women Vs. Partick Thistle Women - Sun, May 12th 2024, 12:10 Final score: 3 - 0