Press conferenceMatt Beard on Reading, Rachel Furness departure, injuries and more
Liverpool FC Women manager Matt Beard held his pre-match press conference on Friday morning ahead of this weekend’s home Barclays Women’s Super League game against Reading.
Beard was quizzed on several topics as he previewed the Prenton Park clash, which kicks off at 2pm GMT on Sunday.
Read the key points from the manager’s media briefing below.
On the announcement Rachel Furness has left Liverpool by mutual consent after three seasons with the club…
Furney has been a great servant to the club. During my time here, she’s been fantastic. We sat down about 10 days ago and we spoke about her role, which has changed a bit this year. There were some clubs who were interested in signing her and we made Rachel aware of that. I think there were three clubs who were interested and, between Rachel and her agent, they decided she wanted to move on. There was a role here for here, but the opportunity arose for her to get regular football. We wish her nothing but the best.
It's always tough when you lose senior players. She’s a fantastic person and we’re going to miss her.
On Natasha Dowie’s return to Liverpool and his verdict on the Reds’ transfer window business…
We’ve already seen in training what Natasha can bring to the squad with her experience. She has had a big impact already. We worked really hard to make it [her signing] happen. The girls’ reaction to her coming back has been fantastic as well.
If you look at the transfer window as a whole, I’m pleased with it. We’ve brought Gemma Bonner and Natasha in – two experienced players who know the WSL and have had success here. They know the club and I think that is important, because there is a certain expectation that comes with playing for Liverpool. We’ve also strengthened with Fuka [Nagano], Miri [Taylor] and Sophie [Lundgaard], who are younger players. I feel we’ve got a good balance with what we’ve done in this window.
On midfielder Fuka Nagano’s impressive influence since joining the club last month…
She’s been fantastic. She’s another player with great personality. She has raised the standard in training, because of her football brain. We’re delighted she’s a Liverpool player. She can do so many different things, she can play high and she can play deep. The good thing for me is we’ve got someone who can control the tempo of the game. She’s been a great addition, she’s a great character and there’s definitely more to come.
On the news Shanice van de Sanden is expected to be out for two months…
She was upset when we got the scan results. She is a wonderful character. She is still vocal in the meetings and in the dressing room. She’s as infectious as always. She’s just so upset she can’t contribute on the pitch. She’s had no luck with injuries this season and it’s such a shame, as we were starting to get to the point when we were seeing the real Shanice. Everyone has rallied around her.
On a setback for Leanne Kiernan in her rehabilitation from injury…
We did a scan and there was a bit of scar tissue and fluid in the heel. That’s all been cleaned up. She is in a protective boot for a week and is back in the gym. She’ll be back out running next week. We were anticipating the end of February [when she could return] but we’re now probably looking at mid-March or April. We don’t want to put a timeline on it because it was a bad injury. We just need to make sure Leanne is fully comfortable.
On what he can take from his team’s spirited performance in last Sunday’s 3-2 FA Cup defeat at Chelsea…
We pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 and then, even after conceding a third goal, we continued to go. That’s the biggest positive I can take from the game, that we continued to create chances and create a lot of pressure. We need to tidy up on the ball and we need to be more aggressive, especially when we’re pushing teams back. We’re disappointed didn’t progress in the cup, but there are a lot of positives to take from it.
On the 3-3 draw at Reading in November and the test they will provide on Sunday…
The first game we played against them this season was an interesting one. We showed a lot of character in that match. We came from 2-1 down to go 3-2 up and then were desperately disappointed we conceded a late equaliser. The learning curves were to not let Reading put crosses in the box and don’t give away silly set-plays. And when we do have opportunities to score, we need to take them. We should’ve been out of sight at half-time, but if you don’t convert chances, sometimes you get punished. It’s a completely different game now. Our team has changed and so has theirs. It’ll be a tough game. They never give up, they keep fighting until the end. I feel [Reading manager] Kelly Chambers does an unbelievable job year-on-year.
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.