Oxtoby out to build momentum from winning start | OneFootball

The victory was the team's first at Gateshead this campaign, while there was also a first clean sheet across all competitions - something Oxtoby was proud of, albeit she has been fine-tuning some details on the training pitch this week.

United welcome old foes Liverpool Feds to Tyneside this weekend in the third round of the Adobe Women's FA Cup, and Newcastle's manager is excited to be a part of the competition but had a clear message for her players.

Here are some of the boss' key thoughts…

On carrying momentum forward after Monday's win…

"It's been positive, and Monday's result has given us a bit of momentum and given the players confidence in what we're trying to do. Now we're building towards a really important game on Sunday.

"The players want to learn, and they want to get better, and as a coach, that's all you can ask for. They're all asking good questions and wanting to understand what we're going after as a group, so from that perspective, it's very pleasing. That energy has been really good."

On treating Sunday's Adobe Women's FA Cup game like any other match…

"We've spoken at length about that. From our point of view, we need to ensure that we're going out and performing at our best, and we control that, so we have to make sure our standards are nice and high.

"We respect the opposition, and we know that in possession they're quite good, so we need to make sure that we're on it and at our best to get the performance and the result."

On how the squad is improving on the training pitch…

"We're building off what we've been doing, so we're not moving too much away from our style and what we want to do, but we want to make sure we're organised and aggressive in the right areas of the pitch.

"We're communicating how and when we're looking to press. It's ever-evolving, and we're constantly looking to get better at what we do. Sunday is another opportunity for us."

On the importance of having finishers coming off the bench…

"Every training session is food for thought, and I think that's one thing the players are learning from me is that every training session matters and every moment in the session matters, because you either train yourself into the team or you train yourself out.

"We talk about how contribution is value, so if you're coming off the bench and you want to impact the game, you're either finishing the game off for us in the sense of seeing the game out, or you're coming on to impact and change the game by finishing it off in a positive way."