Liverpool Ladies are closing in on the Women's Super League title and face Everton in the derby at the Halton Stadium on Thursday night, with a message from manager Matt Beard to earn the local bragging rights.

Kick-off at the Halton Stadium is at 7.30pm and admission is just £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.

With two games left this season, both at home, the Ladies know six points would guarantee them the title and Beard believes winning the championship would be fitting reward for the fantastic hard work his new team has put in this season.

Well Matt, since we last spoke a lot has certainly changed in the title race, hasn't it?

We've had one or two results go our way. It's pleasing because we have always wanted to control our own destiny and as a group we can just focus now on getting maximum points from our next two games, and if we do that we would have had a successful season because we would be champions.

You go into Thursday's derby with Everton three points clear at the top of the Super League, but did you honestly expect Arsenal to drop points against Lincoln and Bristol last week?

They have had a tough run-in and Bristol can still mathematically win the league. It's still going to be a tough run-in for us because we have got to play Bristol at home in our last game of the season and that could be a title-deciding game. Arsenal haven't got the same strength-in-depth in their squad this season and they have had a tough end to the campaign. We know at first-hand how frustrating Lincoln can be to play against and luckily enough for us they managed to nick a point off them, and then Bristol did us an even bigger favour at the weekend.

If results go to plan and Bristol were to win their game in hand they would be just two points behind you going into the final game of the season; however, they have to go to Birmingham first, which is far from easy...

That will be their fourth game in 13 days, so the pressure is now on them as they are now being spoken about with regards to winning this league, whereas previously that wasn't being mentioned. Let's see how they handle that pressure now of chasing us and fighting for the first and second spot.

The title is in your hands, though - do you enjoy the pressure and thrive on it?

Well, we've just got to make sure we focus on Everton first and then if we can get the three points we can turn our attention to the final game. There's an international break in between the final two games so we've got to do our jobs. I'm confident with this group that if we stick to our game plan and work as hard as we have been doing then we can have a good end to the season.

Thursday's derby with Everton is certainly eagerly anticipated but as we know from the past, the form book always goes out of the window in these games. Will that be one of your messages to the players in your team talk?

Yes, we've got to be up for the game - it's as simple as that. We have played them twice this year, drawing 1-1 in the Continental Cup and then beating them in the league. Everton are not in the best of form but we know it's going to be a tough night. They don't want Liverpool to win the league and they won't want us to beat them on Thursday night as there are bragging rights at the end of the day. We've got to be up for the challenge and as long as we stick to our philosophy and stick to what we believe in then I'm confident we can win the game, but it's certainly not going to be an easy night.

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You beat them 4-1 at Marine back in June with a very impressive display...

Especially the second half. I was pleased with how we responded after Everton got the equaliser against the run of play. We dominated the game. We have shown a lot of character and mental strength in the games we have had, especially against Birmingham and Doncaster in our recent matches. They were tough games because both of them set out to frustrate us and were very direct in the way they played. We had to adapt our game to counter that and show our battling qualities and as long as we work hard I know our quality. We will always create a lot of chances and with players like Nicole Rolser, Louise Fors and Natasha Dowie they are in goalscoring form and hopefully they can do the business on Thursday night.

You have one or two ex-Blues in your ranks, so no extra motivation needed there...

They signed the Jones twins from us as well so there's obviously some added incentive for both sides but we will just concentrate on getting the three points, which is the most important thing.

One ex-Everton player you signed is Natasha Dowie and she has proved to be something of a bargain. How pleased are you to see Natasha back in the England squad?

She deserves it. If you look at the goals she has scored this season, we have worked a lot at improving Natasha's game moving towards the goal. Her link-up play is brilliant and her game has improved. She is top goalscorer domestically and she deserves to be in the England squad. She should have gone to the Euros, especially with the form Ellen White was in going into that tournament, but the manager had other ideas.

She has scored 16 goals for you in 19 games this season - that's fantastic by any standards, isn't it?

She could have had a few more to be fair as well, but she has been a pleasure to work with this year. Her attitude is spot on and she is always wanting to work on extra things in training and she has reaped the benefits of that. The hard work has paid off for Natasha.

A word on your captain Gemma Bonner who has been a real inspiration at the back in recent weeks. You worked with Gemma at Chelsea previously and she has been a great addition to the squad, hasn't she?

She scored a great goal against Bristol and you saw the reaction of the players with the way we celebrated and it was a big goal. I knew what we were getting with Gemma and one of the reasons why I made her captain was week-in, week-out she is consistent with her performances. You don't need to be a shouter or a screamer to be captain as she leads by example. I think this year she has grown into the role of captain and has done really well for us.

The progress has been fantastic this year as you inherited a team which was bottom of the league and losing most weeks. Now you are on the verge of trying to win the title. How pleasing has the transformation been?

A lot of hard work has gone into it. I always knew with the players we recruited and what we were building we could challenge to win trophies, but it was another thing how quickly we would gel and have the players understanding quickly what we wanted them to do, as the language barrier could have been a problem. I think Nicole Rolser and Corina Schroder deserve credit for working hard in their English lessons to make sure they understand well. Nicole in the second half of this season has been frightening for us. She has scored goals, created them and won us penalties. It has been a good transformation but we are not going to get carried away. We have two big matches to go and we will do our utmost to make sure we win this league and make our fans proud.

With no first team and Academy games, Thursday represents a good chance for the supporters to come along to Widnes and cheer the Ladies on. How much of a help could the fans be?

It would be massive. When the players walk out to 'You'll Never Walk Alone', whether it be at Anfield or at the Halton Stadium, it sends chills down your spine and it's an amazing feeling. If we can get the support it would be fantastic and it does give everyone a lift.

The Ladies have also announced the appointment of Angela Roberts as the general manager. How much are you looking forward to working with Angela?

I've met her a few times and she will take a little weight off my shoulders with regards to the running of the club, so I can concentrate on the football. She is going to be a good appointment. She has great experience having worked with the Welsh national team in the women's game, and for us to have someone dedicated 100 per cent to improving our set-up, for me this is a great appointment and I'm looking forward to working with her.

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