“I am really disappointed with the team”: Coach voiced out

admin | January 25, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Rehanne Skinner was not pleased with the way the West Ham United women’s squad played against Birmingham City on Wednesday night in their last group stage match in the Continental Tyres League Cup.

The Irons failed to live up to the performance levels they had demonstrated in their prior 2024 games, losing 2-1 against the Barclays Women’s Championship team.

Lily Agg’s goal on the eighteenth minute gave the Blues the lead, which they doubled just after the half through a long-range effort from Martha Harris.

On a dull evening in the Midlands, Riko Ueki managed to cut the deficit with a header just before the finish of play, but it was too little, too late for Skinner’s men.

At the final whistle, Skinner discussed the outcome with West Ham TV.

I’m really disappointed.

This may be the first occasion this season that I have not thought the fundamentals were sufficient. We did not change out of the changing room quickly enough, we moved too slowly, and we did not put in enough effort in the first half. I can not really claim that we did enough.

The players’ constant chipping away at our style of play has been the one thing we have been able to extract positives from the performance in every other game.

The problem is that you really have to desire to have a certain work rate and mindset, which is not what we have experienced tonight.

We discussed that at halftime and agreed that it was totally wrong. We battled a little bit harder and had some opportunities in the second half, but it was too little, too late. In order to ensure that we proceed prepared for Sunday, we must consider that.

We played really well on Sunday, so it as disappointing not to follow that up.

Although we should have won the game on Sunday, it is not the character of the team or the style of play we want to see if we go from that to tonight’s performance so quickly.

We sincerely appreciate them coming today, and it is not the image we want to present to our followers.

We have always had a great attitude, a strong work ethic, perseverance, and a never-say-die mentality, and we were undoubtedly better towards the finish of the game. We simply did not keep up with the pace, especially in the first half.

We’ve got to reflect on the performance ready for the weekend.

Regardless of the position you hold, you must always be able to show up and give it your all, and I do not think we accomplished that today. We need to think about that.

The players discussed taking responsibility for it during the final team meeting, reviewing the footage, and making sure they are ready to face Bristol City the next weekend when they report to training on Friday.

Everyone has got to stand up and be counted heading into Sunday.

That includes all participants, employees, and players. We examine it daily and consider it carefully in an ongoing effort to improve. It is critical that the players use that time to reflect before the next game to ensure that we take action in response to today’s events and that, as a team, we will emerge stronger.