Ahead of their Saturday lunchtime clash with Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa boss Carla Ward spoke on the concession of late goals, the pressure her side faces, their opponents for Saturday and the impact the Villa faithful can have at the Bescot Stadium for her side.
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On the concession of late goals:
There's no secret that teams might look at Aston Villa as something of a surprise being three losses from three, the manner of two of them must have left Carla Ward scratching her head.
On opening day, Rachel WIlliams' 92nd minute winner stole all three points for Manchester United, whilst at The Emirates last weekend, Katie McCabe and Alessia Russo struck twice in added time to once again break Villa hearts after they had defended so stoutly.
"It's heartbreak, there's no other word for it at the weekend. I asked on Monday to all the staff, we've conceded two late goals to United and Arsenal, we believe we know why, we believe we analysed and went through the things to ensure we don't get in that position again.
"Like I said at the end of the game (the Arsenal game), the girls were sensational and we've worked on things to improve on to put us in good stead on Saturday."
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On the 'pressure' her side faces:
Given last seasons storming 5th place finish and resounding successes, people tipping Aston Villa for a similar campaign this time around and perhaps even a break into the top four will have so far been left disappointed.
Three losses from three league games doesn't look great even at this early stage and they're the only side along with newly promoted Bristol City not to have picked up a point yet this campaign, but Ward isn't buying into the pressure to urgently pick up points at this early stage.
"I think if we'd have played Arsenal at the start of the season, United at the end and lost to Liverpool in the middle, everyone would be going "bloody hell, Villa closed the gap on Arsenal and United", but the reality is we've had them all in succession.
"What it does do is put us in good stead, there's been positives from all three games. Is this a must win? No, in terms of when you talk about pressure, it's a must win for us as a group because we want to go and win this game.
“I've been asked this question a lot over the last couple of weeks around pressure, the reality is the only pressure is what we put on ourselves to improve every time and focus on what we can focus on.
“We prepare in the same way whether we're winning games or losing games and that's really important."
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Her thoughts and the challenge of Spurs:
One of the teams that has noticably improved this term from last are The Villains opponents on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur. Under the guidance of new manager, Robert Vilahamn, Spurs sit in fourth place having picked up two wins and one defeat from their opening three league matches.
Having locked horns in pre season, Villa and Ward will already know about the threat of Spurs, with the Villa manager full of praise, but also sensing an area they could exploit.
"They've got a new manager, met him in pre season and he seems a really good guy, someone who's getting a tune out of the players.
“They'll be a tough opposition and they've shown early doors what they're capable of. I think their second half against Chelsea was really good and they've had a couple of convincing performances this last week.
"Look, it'll be a tough game, they're a tough side and I think they will be knocking on the door of the top six as well, it's a good opportunity for us to have a go against another team that will be going for the top six.
"They play an aggressive style, everyone could highlight when watching Spurs this year that they've got a lot of firepower. We saw that in pre season when we played against them.
“He wants the energy, he wants them stepping on and we know the areas that can be exploited which is certainly something we've been going after over the last few days and today."
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Back at the Bescot and what the fans can bring:
Aston Villa's usual home ground of The Bescot Stadium will be used for the first time this Saturday for the visit of Spurs having played their only previous home game, the season opener at Villa Park against Manchester United.
The 11,300 capacity venue is a 'proper old school' football ground with fans situated close to the pitch, which Villa utilised their strong connection with their supporters at times last season and will be hoping to do so again this Saturday.
"Listen I love the Bescot, I really do. I think there's an energy and a buzz about the place because we're going back to the Bescot. The fans are so close to the pitch, we've got a really special connection with our fans this year.
“You saw at the Emirates we had nearly 800 there, that's a lot to travel down to London, they'll be there in their numbers again (on Saturday).
"I think there's about three or four thousand, you put that many in the Bescot and it bounces. The fans have played a massive part and I have no doubt this weekend, they'll play their part."
