‘Promotion is what everybody wants’ – Birmingham City’s focus never changes says Crosthwaite | OneFootball

Birmingham City forward Lily Crosthwaite says that she could feel the club’s desire to win promotion as soon as she walked through the door.

Blues were Barclays WSL2 runners-up last season, agonisingly missing out on promotion on the final day of the campaign.

Forward Crosthwaite joined Birmingham City from Durham earlier this summer and she says that she picked up on the club’s strong desire to regain their top tier status very quickly after signing on at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.

“The focus has always been the same here; promotion is what everybody wants, that’s a very strong opinion from everyone in the club,” Crosthwaite told WSL Full-Time.

“Any way that I can help the squad is something that I will strive to do. It’s just an exciting place to be and I’m super-looking forward to what’s to come.”

Succeeding in Barclays WSL2 is far from easy but Crosthwaite says that it’s a challenge that you simply have to take in your stride.

She said “You just have to take the league in your stride. It’s competitive so there will probably be peaks and dips in the season. If a dip does occur, it’s about how quickly you can get that peak back for the team; bouncing back with a win and how quickly you can turn it back around.

“Everyone wants a smooth-sailing season but the WSL2 doesn’t allow it to be as smooth as everyone wants it to be.

“It’s about taking each game in our stride, seeing how we approach it, adapting and hopefully, winning as many games as possible.”

Birmingham City face a tough start to the season with fixtures against predicted promotion rivals Bristol City and Newcastle United in the first three games but Crosthwaite says that Blues will aim to rise to the challenge.

She said “We can look at it in two ways; there are going to be big challenges but also, we are coming in and we want to kick-off on the right foot.

“They’re super-exciting challenges. It’ll be a big test straight away but it’s one that we want and one that we’re going to rise to. Hopefully, we can start the season off strong.”

Birmingham City open the new Barclays WSL2 season with a home fixture against Bristol City on Sunday. Tickets for the match are on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.