Emma Hayes has expressed that Chelsea Women “must take care of the performance” against Everton in the Womens Super League at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.
The Blues kicked-off their three consecutive home league games with victory over Liverpool during the week, with Niamh Charles striking prior to half-time and Sam Kerr scoring the winner with four minutes left to go, in the club’s first league fixture since mid-March.
Brian Sorensen’s Toffees arrive in the capital sitting sixth in the league table
The Chelsea boss spoke about being mentally ready for the ‘challenge’ on Sunday evening.
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Everton make the trip to the capital
Looking ahead to Sunday’s clash against Everton, Hayes stated, “The first challenge on Sunday is to make sure we’re wide awake from the first minute
We weren’t against Liverpool, and they punished us for that, which meant we were then chasing the game from that moment. So, we need to be better prepared, mentally.”
She continued: “It’s understandable, considering we’d just come from a semi-final in front of 72,000 fans to playing in front of 1,600 people in a midweek league game,”
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‘This part of a season is always really tough’
Chelsea have five league matches remaining before the end of the season, including two London derbies against West Ham and Arsenal, plus an FA Cup final to at Wembley, against Manchester United, next Sunday.
It is a busy schedule and Hayes is determined that the Blues’ mindset will not change, saying that ‘we will continue to approach each game as it comes.’
Looking ahead to the last few weeks, Hayes stated, ‘This part of a season is always really tough – even more so with a World Cup on the horizon – but we’ve got a gutsy group that loves winning trophies.
‘[Like the Liverpool result] Wins like Wednesday night’s will give us the confidence that we can keep going and picking up the results we need to achieve our goals.’
‘One thing we won’t be doing is getting ahead of ourselves in anyway.'
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Hayes believes Bright will be fit for the World Cup
However, the Blues boss has confirmed that Millie Bright will not be back in time for this Sunday’s fixture against Everton, which could affect the club’s ambitions to win the double this campaign.
The English defender has been out of action since Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final against Lyon in March, as it was reported that she suffered a knee injury that has kept her out of action.
‘She'll [Millie Bright] make the World Cup, I am sure of that,’ Hayes explained
'I don't know when Millie will be back, but I think slim chances in the next couple of weeks, if at all for the remainder of the season.’