InterviewRhiannon Roberts: The No.4 who would run through 'brick walls' for LFC Women

As far as commitment goes, Roberts gives nothing less than 100 per cent in everything she does.

When the going gets tough, you can always rely on ‘Razza’, as she’s affectionately known, to get the team going again.

“You know me, I like a tackle, I like a header and I just try to be a spark in the team,” she tells Liverpoolfc.com.

“If it’s a bit flat at any point in the game, if I can make a good tackle or an important header, I will always try to spark the team back up again.

“We always talk about this in our psychology sessions and we get asked, ‘Can you be the spark? Can you lift the team or do something a little bit special?’

“But let’s face it, I’m not going to go and do step-overs, am I? So if I can win the ball and get the team going, I will try to do it.”

Matt Beard’s side are eight points clear at the top of the FA Women’s Championship with four fixtures left to play.

The Wales international has played a prominent part this season as the Reds close in on their dream of promotion back to the Women’s Super League.

The No.4 says: “It has been really enjoyable. We’ve got a really good group together and it’s a good environment.

“We’ve got a positive group of players and staff, and everything has just come together for this season.

“It took us a bit of time to get going at the start and we have been so consistent throughout the season and we just need to get this over the line now.

“For us to go 17 league games unbeaten is a really good record and, to be fair, we’ve set good standards for ourselves as well.

“We’ve had psychology sessions and we’ve said we should be keeping clean sheets for a certain amount of games, we shouldn’t be conceding and should be winning a lot of games.

“At first, you look at it and think, ‘Well, that’s too high.’ But we’ve got high expectations of ourselves and each other. We’ve done really well this season and hopefully that will continue going forward.”

While LFC Women occupy the position every other team in the division wants, Beard and his squad are refusing to get carried away as the hard work continues.

“It is getting closer but we’ve just got to take it one game at a time,” Roberts continues. “We are not getting carried away and we know we’ve got a lot of hard work to do because mathematically it’s still anyone’s to play for.

“We’ve got to keep our heads down and look to the next game and the next three points.”

The spirit within the squad is second-to-none and Roberts is enjoying working under Beard, who took charge of the club for the 100th time last Sunday against Charlton Athletic Women.

“He’s great,” Roberts says of the boss. “He’s brought really good people in and it was just a great start to the season having the right people in.

“He brought some quality players in, every member of staff is just so good – they are just great people and you can have a laugh.

“The manager will also give us a shouting at when we need it and that’s what you need. What you see is what you get with Beardie, and I like that. I really enjoy working with him.”

Roberts is known for her versatility and as a player that can be relied on to do a job for the team, wherever required.

“I’ve played everywhere in this team, haven’t I?” she laughs. “Midfield, attacking midfield, right wing-back, centre-half, but as long as I’m on the pitch I really am not bothered.

“I just love playing and I want to play. Wherever I can contribute for this team, I’ll just give it my best shot. I’ve been enjoying playing at the back this season.”

The Reds host Durham at Prenton Park on Sunday, with kick-off set for 12pm BST.

The backing of the loyal LFC Women fans will again be vital, with Roberts and her teammates in awe at their support.

“Honestly, they are absolutely unbelievable,” she states. “Every week all the girls are going, ‘Is there a supporters’ coach going for the game?’

“The away support we’ve had this season has been incredible and they have just outshone the opposition we’ve played when they have played at home. An away game for us feels like a home game and it’s unbelievable.

“It showed last season how much we missed them due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it made a massive impact.

“They give us a boost and give us that extra push and bit of motivation. We will need them as always against Durham, who are always a tough team to play against. But when we played them away earlier this season, I just felt our character really shone through and it was a bit of a turning point in the season when we beat them.

“It showed we can go and compete physically with these teams in the division as well, and then our quality starts to shine through. Hopefully that will happen again on Sunday.”

Goalkeeper Rachael Laws has proved a formidable last line of defence and has broken her own personal clean sheet record this season – she currently has 12 this term.

Beard’s side have conceded just six goals in 18 league games so far, and it’s that foundation that has helped the team make great strides in 2021-22, Roberts believes.

She adds: “It’s a massive focus in a game, as you keep a clean sheet and you don’t lose basically.

“Credit to Lawsy, she has been amazing this season. She is amazing with her feet and I’ve never played with anyone as good as she is in distributing from the back. When you call upon her, she pulls off a world-class save.

“We actually pride ourselves on clean sheets and I do think that’s a massive thing in football. I’d rather clear a ball off the line than score a goal most of the time.”

Roberts comes from a sporting family, and right from an early age she was keen to follow in her mother’s competitive footsteps.

She finishes: “My mum was a gymnast for Wales, so I did gymnastics training every day and maybe football training once or twice a week.

“I used to kick a ball with my older brother and played in the primary school team. My mum said, ‘It’s getting too much now’ as I was literally somewhere training every night, going from one place to another.

“She said, ‘Maybe you should pick what you want to do’ and I said I wanted to do football, so it went from there.”