‘There was always belief there’ – Liverpool moving in the right direction says Taylor | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Gareth Taylor says that belief has always been present in his squad and that there are clear signs that things are moving in the right direction.

The Reds are winless in the Barclays Women’s Super League so far this season but they have now secured back-to-back draws and have been competitive in most of their games.

When speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Arsenal, Liverpool boss Taylor said that belief is something that has always been present in the dressing room.

“There was always belief there,” Taylor said. “Sometimes, it might not always look that way from the outside looking in but internally, the players are really onboard with what we are trying to do. You can see signs of it growing in terms of us being a little bit more difficult to play against.

“Outside of Everton in the first game of the season, where we played some of the best football but ended up with a really weird scoreline, we’ve never been beaten by more than the odd goal, other than 2-0 against Man United. That tells you that we are moving it in the right direction.”

This weekend’s opponents Arsenal have tasted defeat just once this season but Taylor says that Liverpool are excited for the challenge that awaits in North London.

He said “They’re a team that are blessed with a lot of talent, not only technical, tactical understanding but also, good physical capabilities as well. They’ve got a bench that’d get into most WSL teams as well.

“The challenge is big but that’s what we look for and get excited about. They like to play similar to Mikel [Arteta] and the men’s team but we certainly have a specific game plan like we had against Chelsea where we will try and hurt them in certain areas both with and without the ball.”

Liverpool have a forward in form in Beata Olsson. The Swede has netted six goals in four games in all competitions. Taylor has been hugely impressed with Olsson but says that she must be carefully managed throughout the season.

He said “It’s a nice story for Beata. When you look at her performances on the pitch or her goal return, they are admirable things but when you look at her as a person and a player, she is really humble. She’s a pressing machine for us without the ball, she’s so physically fit and able to repeatedly sprint.

“She’s come from a tough season with Kristianstad and not had much of a rest. She’s come from finishing a season there and being asked to do another season, so we need to manage her in the right way.

“I feel like the last international break when we had her in the building was the making of her. She was able to do lots of good individual work with us on a one-to-one basis. Of course now, we lost Beata because she went away with Sweden for a couple of weeks. She had a great experience but didn’t play.

“I’m always mindful of expectations. It might take her a little bit of time. We haven’t got any time before the next game but it might take her a little bit of time to get her Liverpool head back on. The powers of adapting to what we do quickly is really tough. We need to try and transition into that as quickly as we possibly can.”

Liverpool’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Arsenal kicks-off at 12pm on Saturday afternoon.