Despite the threat of relegation looming over them, Lauren Smith is optimistic about the future of Bristol City.
Rooted to the bottom of the WSL and with games running out, it’s looking pretty bleak for the Robins in their quest to stay in the division.
However, Smith is confident that, whatever happens between now and the end of the season, nothing is going to derail the project that’s going on at Ashton Gate.
“Keeping positive comes down to two things. One of the first things is recruitment.
“When we recruited this team, we looked at the person and the player and how they fit in the project here at Bristol City.
“We knew things were going to be tricky this season. We weren’t going to come in and leapfrog loads of teams, and it was key to get the right people in terms of their ambition and realism into this team.
“The other part is the honesty. The group is very honest with each other in terms of where we are, where we’re sat, how it looks, and what they next steps might be.
“We do well, we stay up and that’s great, everybody wants that. Or maybe we go down and we come back up. Whatever it looks like, everyone knows it doesn’t end in May for anyone.
“Everyone has got a long-term plan, everyone is on a journey, but everyone is all-in to make sure we try and stay in the WSL, but the future is bright.
“We’ve got a really young team, and it’s not like people are ending their careers here or worried about what’s next.
“We’ve got great players who are going to have a great future, whether that’s with us or elsewhere.
“What we’ve got is ambitious players from day one until the end of the WSL season, and that’s what drives them all.”
Three weeks later...
It’s been three long weeks since we last saw Bristol City in action, and that was a 1-0 defeat at home to Tottenham.
It’s not been plain sailing for Smith, with a lot of players going away to play for their national teams.
“With the international break, it’s one of those difficult times for us in terms of not being able to work with a full squad.
“We’ve been working hard with the players who didn’t go away and making sure they’re fresh and ready to go.
“Then I’ve been watching the rest of them play for their international teams, and it’s been a really successful window for many of them.”
However, the manager was able to spend a week before the break with all of her players, a week where Smith and the squad seemed to have really enjoyed themselves.
“We did manage to have a week before the international break with everyone here, and it allowed us to change our week around the bit and give those international players a couple of days off.
“They’re normally the ones who get it pretty tough going from club to country without days off.
“We allowed them to go into those camps pretty fresh, and we’ve seen how they’ve come out the other end of it, because they’ve all walked in looking really sharp and refreshed.
“Also, that week before we had an in-house game, and it was probably the best one we’ve had in the three years I’ve been here.
“It was competitive, realistic; I refereed it, so I know how that felt! It’s been a really good feeling around here.”
Arsenal challenge
Bristol City’s first game back in three weeks is a pretty daunting one; a trip to Meadow Park to play Arsenal.
You don’t need to be a specialist to know how good Arsenal are, however, Smith believes her team can learn a lot from their narrow defeat to the Gunners earlier in the season.
“Arsenal are a great team, and they are good to watch.
They move the ball really well, the style and identity are clear to see, and that’s something you look at and think, wow.
“We know we’re going to spend long periods of the game without the ball, because they move it so well and are going to try and break us down.
“We have to be aware of their threats. Last time that threat was Katie McCabe from a set-piece, and they’ve got many different ways of shaping a game, and we need to be aware of what they look like.
“The girls have taken on the information and the gameplan really well, so I’m hoping we can stay in the game for a good period and get something from it.
“When we look at the last few games, it shows that we are not far away from getting something from games.
“We have shifted a little bit, yes, we have had some poor performances, but those recent performances and the game against Arsenal at Ashton Gate will give us confidence.
“We want to do our best and we still believe we can get something out of the game.”
This will be Arsenal’s first game since their victory in the Conti Cup, and the first game since Emma Hayes’ bust up with Jonas Eidevall.
Hayes accused Eidevall of showing ‘male aggression’ on the touchline, however, Smith says she has nothing but respect for the Swede.
“Jonas is passionate. I get on with him, but I don’t think there is a manager that I don’t get along with and respect.
“That’s obviously something personal that’s happened in the final, but he’s passionate, Emma’s passionate, and we saw that happen in real life.”