Beard trains sights on cup success
Liverpool Ladies boss Matt Beard has targeted more domestic success this season as his champions prepare to kick off their new campaign with an FA Cup date at Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.
Having come up short at the semi-final stage last season to Arsenal at Anfield, Beard admitted that disappointment helped inspire their sensational league form which saw them claim the Women's Super League title for the first time in their history.
Beard told Liverpoolfc.com: "When we sat back and reviewed the season, maybe the FA Cup was a little bit too soon for us because it helped us find our league form, to be honest.
"But we would like to go one better in both cup competitions this year, and make sure that we compete in the final to give us a good platform to get games under our belts to make sure that we have a good domestic league season as well."
Kick-off at the Hetton Centre is at 2.05pm BST and the game is a good test ahead of the Super League opener against Manchester City at the Halton Stadium on Thursday night.
Despite sustaining a couple of troublesome injuries and international call-ups disrupting preparations, the ladies have had an overall excellent pre-season after picking up where they left off with some impressive wins.
Beard said: "The performances we've put in, we've got better with each game, which from our perspective is pleasing and we're now in a position where we're ready for Sunderland on Sunday and hopefully we can make sure we're in the hat on Monday."
The former Chelsea Ladies manager has boosted his set-up in pre-season with a host of new signings that he feels will strengthen his squad as they get set to compete on all domestic fronts and the UEFA Women's Champions League at the end of the campaign.
He added: "We've brought in Libby Stout who's an American U23 goalkeeper. The goalkeeping position was a bit of a problem area for us last year with Sarah and Rachel both in and out of the team so we're looking for a bit more stability with Libby.
"We've also signed Martha Harris from Lincoln. She's an England U20 international who can play right or left-back and she's a very good player.
"She adds more strength and depth to the squad and gives me a little bit more flexibility and competition for places in the full-back area.
"I also signed Gemma Davison from Arsenal who is one of the best attacking players England have got and we're really looking forward to working with Gemma and fitting her into the Liverpool way."
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