Sign up for Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for free
Subscribe to Miguel’s Delaney’s Free Weekly Newsletter
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor insists his team are taking it one game at a time as they prepare for their final title push with the visit of West Ham on Sunday.
City have been out of action since losing to Arsenal in early April and are looking to bounce back with a win that could temporarily move them to second in the WSL table.
The last international break was followed by the FA Cup semi-finals in which City did not feature, but they are still one cry away from claiming their first league title, sitting six points behind leaders Manchester United with one game to go.
None of their title rivals are in action this weekend, so it’s a chance for City to pick up some points, and Taylor believes his team are well rested but knows there’s no room for complacency.
He told a press conference: “We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Focus on West Ham before moving on to the next one.
“There’s never any room for error – you can’t be perfect all season, but we’re looking forward to this last part of the season.
“We were disappointed not to be included in the FA Cup semi-finals, that bought us a bit more time. The international break was a good period to give them, especially those on international duty, a couple of days to recuperate and rest up for the final push.
West Ham manager Paul Konchesky knows his team have to play their best game to get a result from title-chasing City.
The Hammers are currently riding a seven game winless run in the league, having not tasted victory since last year.
He said: “We have to be there from minute one until the final whistle sounds, if we do it and compete we can give them a good game.
“We’ve talked as a group about being more consistent, more ruthless in both areas. When we attack we have to take our chances, but we have to be ruthless in our own area when we are defending.
“There are 15 points to play and we need to pick up as many as we can.”
Leicester are out of action this weekend, so Reading have a chance to put a breather between them and the relegation zone when they take on Everton.
Royals boss Kelly Chambers has stated that her team is ready to fight to stay in the league, saying: “I have to give the players credit, they have raised their hands, they have been responsible and they have shown me that they want to fight. “. .
The Toffees’ recent unbeaten run came to an end midweek with a 3-2 loss to Brighton, despite Katja Snoeijs’ brace and the striker looking for an immediate answer.
She said: “It is important for us now to focus on reading. We will analyze what we need to do better, but we need a stronger mentality.”
Tottenham’s interim head coach Vicky Jepson says her team must be perfect in their next few games to avoid the WSL crash.
Spurs will have to face Aston Villa on Sunday, who went eight games unbeaten in all competitions before losing twice to Chelsea in the league and the FA Cup.
She said: “It’s not going to be easy. There is no team that we face that simply gives us the points. We have to earn them and that’s where we have to make sure we don’t get complacent in those moments.”
Liverpool are looking to continue their recent unbeaten run, while Brighton will want to claim three more points in their quest for WSL safety. The Seagulls’ three points move them further away from relegation-place Leicester and could put them within a point of the Reds.
