‘They’ve shown that they’ve got quality’ – Manchester City’s standards can’t drop on Tyneside says Jeglertz | OneFootball

Manchester City head coach Andrée Jeglertz says that his side must maintain their high standards when they face Newcastle United in the Subway Women’s League Cup this afternoon.

The Cityzens travel to the Gateshead International Stadium aiming to take another step towards sealing their place in the quarter-finals.

Opponents Newcastle United have endured an underwhelming start to the season with wins proving hard to come by. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Jeglertz said that his side’s standards cannot slip, especially given the experience in the Newcastle United ranks.

“It’s a team that maybe haven’t got the results but they’ve shown that they’ve got quality, especially a lot of experience,” Jeglertz said. “They’re an experienced group because they have players who have played in the WSL earlier in their careers. They are fully-capable as individuals but maybe they haven’t connected as a team yet.

“They’re running a lot, creating opportunities and when they get chances, they’ll definitely try to punish us behind the backline, so that’s something that we need to be aware of. They’re working extremely hard as a unit, so if we are not switched on, they will definitely try to expose us to different threats.

“At the same time, we are the team that should win this game if we play at the level that we’re supposed to. We can’t drop any percentage in the performance because they’re a good team and we will definitely be challenged.”

Jeglertz is likely to make changes to his squad for this afternoon’s fixture. He sees squad selection as rewarding players rather than rotating for a domestic cup tie.

He said “We talk about rotation but it’s more like giving players opportunities because it’s very tight in the squad, there are a lot of great football players and they’re competing every day. It’s the small details for which players we are picking for each game.

“It’s definitely an opportunity to see more players and it’s not because of rotation, they deserve it because they’re working hard every day.”

After taking on Liverpool in Premier League surroundings at Anfield last weekend, Manchester City now face the challenge of an open air athletics stadium in Gateshead. Jeglertz has no concerns over his side having to adapt to very different playing conditions.

He said “It’s about being professional football players. You have to adapt when playing in different stadiums and against a team playing in a lower league. The circumstances should not affect the performance; we know what we are supposed to do and if we give it 100-percent effort, then we will be fine. I’m not worried about that.

“I’m not saying it’s a test of our professionalism but this is what it’s about, being a professional footballer. It’s not always sunshine, great stadiums and perfect pitches, there are circumstances that may affect us if we let it happen but I’m not worried about that.”

Manchester City’s Subway Women’s League Cup fixture at Newcastle United kicks-off at 2pm.