HOPE POWELL has stressed that Brighton can’t expect an easy ride against West Ham despite their amazing victory over Chelsea.
Powell, 54, said that although her side are the first to beat the champions in two years, every game is different and the Hammers game will be “tough.”
Hope Powell has warned her Brighton stars that victory against West Ham isn’t a foregone conclusionCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Brighton shocked the footballing world by ending the West Londoner’s 33 unbeaten game run in the WSL after previously losing to Bristol.
Powell was asked how she managed to galvanise her players into their stellar performance against the Blues.
She said that she met with the team after the Bristol City loss and said they had some “frank and honest conversations,” and said it was imperative they “went back to basics.”
Powell said: “This is how it’s going to be from now on. Yeah just back to basics. We need a 100 per cent effort.
“I wanted a good performance. I wanted some desire and effort and application, and I got all of those things.
“And with a little bit of luck, we win the game and get three massive points, it was a big win for us.”
But she warned her stars ahead of the midweek clash that a win over the Hammers isn’t a “foregone conclusion” despite their 2-1 Chelsea win.
The former England boss said: “We take confidence from last week,
“But we cannot think for one minute the fact that we beat Chelsea, [beating West Ham] is a foregone conclusion, that’s just not the way football is.
“And you know, we can see that by all recent results whether it’s women’s football or men’s football, it’s no foregone conclusion.”
The Hammers enter the game languishing just above the bottom spot, while Brighton hover slightly above them in eighth.
Acutely aware of their struggle, Powell compared the two team’s upcoming battle to a “dogfight” and said it will be a “hard contest” for the Seagulls.
Brighton became the first team to beat champions Chelsea in TWO YEARS on the weekendCredit: PA:Press Association
She continued: “It will be a hard contest, it will be a dog fight. Both teams want the points, both teams not wanting to lose.
“You know, at the moment, we’re in a better position than they are. So you know, for them they’ve got to get points on the board as we have to as well.”
To make the pre-game preparations even more difficult, both sides are having to train in the heavy snow, which Powell says has been “terrible.”
When asked about the weather, she said: “It’s terrible, freezing cold, we weren’t able to train on grass we had to end up going on rubber crumb, which isn’t ideal preparation.
“But it’s the same for everybody. I’m sure it will be the same for West Ham, London is pretty bad.”
She also said that there were some concerns the game could be called off due to the treacherous weather, but the Seagulls were still preparing.
Powell added: “We’ll just prepare as if though were gonna play.
“We do appreciate that it can be called off at any time. But we are preparing as if though we’re gonna play the game.”
Brighton’s Fliss Gibbons is pleased to be a role model for woman’s football
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
