Amy Merricks: “We categorically don’t fear anyone” | OneFootball

Birmingham City Women head coach Amy Merricks has dismissed any suggestion that the newly promoted Blues should fear reigning champions Manchester City ahead of their return to the top flight at the Joie Stadium.

Merricks insists her side are ready to go “toe-to-toe” with City, categorically rejecting the notion that Birmingham should travel north with any fear on the opening weekend. The Blues make their long-awaited return to the WSL on Sunday following promotion from WSL 2 last season. On paper, they could hardly have been handed a tougher opening assignment: an away trip to face Andrée Jeglertz’s defending champions.

Yet, speaking in Friday’s pre-match press conference, Merricks made it clear that Birmingham have not returned to the top flight simply to make up the numbers.

Asked how she intends to balance the expansive style that proved so successful in WSL 2 with the challenge posed by last season’s dominant side, Merricks was quick to point out that a new campaign brings a clean slate.

“No one’s played the game yet, so we don’t know if they’re going to be the best in the league,” Merricks said. “We’ve had to evolve, and so have they. I just want to make it really clear that we’re here to go toe-to-toe. The game is 11 v 11. There’s one football in it. That doesn’t change. We have to focus on what we can control, and that’s how we can compete.”

Birmingham already have recent experience of testing City. Merricks’ side pushed them close in April’s Women’s FA Cup quarter-final, eventually falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

However, the Birmingham boss stressed that little can be read into that encounter heading into a new season, with both sides having evolved over the summer. When it was suggested that Birmingham may find it more difficult to produce the same attacking output against elite WSL opposition, Merricks responded by saying her side were being “written off already”.

“We’re a progressive team. We’ll find ways to create and score,” she insisted. “We know it’s going to be a challenge, but what we absolutely can’t do is lose our strengths. We have to amplify those.”

And when asked whether there was a possibility that City could underestimate the newly promoted side, Merricks’ response was emphatic. “We categorically don’t fear anyone.”

Adaptability key to Birmingham’s approach

While Merricks is unwilling to compromise on Birmingham’s identity, she believes tactical adaptability will be crucial if the Blues are to establish themselves in the WSL. Sunday’s meeting with City represents the first opportunity to put that approach into practice.

“There’s a core part of our identity that is non-negotiable for us as Blues and as myself as a head coach,” Merricks explained. “But for me to be competitive, we have to be able to be adaptable. We’ve got a significant number of versatile players, which gives us so many opportunities. For us, it’s a game of chess: how do we solve the problems that we’re having, and what are the solutions?”

That versatility has been strengthened by an active summer transfer window, with Birmingham adding eight new players to the squad that secured promotion.

Among those arrivals is former Manchester United defender Millie Turner, who Merricks confirmed will captain the side this season. Turner, alongside Norwegian international Lisa Naalsund, adds considerable WSL experience to a squad that also retains much of the core responsible for Birmingham’s promotion. “Millie is a fantastic person, character, leader and has a ton of experience and so much more to give to the game and the league,” Merricks said of her new captain.

The Birmingham boss believes the combination of experienced additions and emerging talent has left her with a squad capable of competing following their step up.

“Alongside that experience, we have a good amount of young, exciting talent, and that’s a really nice recipe for success.”

Birmingham’s first examination could hardly be more demanding. The newly promoted Blues begin their WSL campaign away to the reigning champions, against a Manchester City side that set the standard domestically last season.

Merricks, though, has no intention of allowing Birmingham to approach the occasion with an inferiority complex.

Her message before the Blues’ return to the top flight is a simple one: retain the identity that earned them promotion, adapt when the game demands it and, regardless of the opposition, compete without fear.