Rehanne Skinner wants her West Ham United women’s team to hit the ground running with success in their Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Liverpool on Sunday.
After almost a month away from competitive action, the Hammers, who entered the Christmas break in fine form, return to the pitch with the visit of the Reds at Chigwell Construction Stadium. But while there has been some time without a game, spirits at Chadwell Heath have remained high with the players returning to training last week.
The squad have also welcomed Shekiera Martinez with open arms, who returned to West Ham after accumulating the necessary points to meet the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) criteria for international player visas while on loan at SC Freiburg in the first half of the season.
The 24-year-old has settled into the squad seamlessly, and the Germany U23 international could make her Hammers debut in the FA Cup on Sunday - a competition steeped in history, and the Irons boss has explained its importance to her team.
To help get back up to match fitness, West Ham played in a behind-closed-doors friendly in preparation for the visit of Matt Beard’s side and Skinner took plenty of positives from her team's display.
There are more reasons to be positive ahead of the clash against the Reds, with defenders Anouk Denton and Amber Tysiak both extending their stays at the Club until the summer of 2028.
Wishing the fans a Happy New Year, and hoping her side can deliver the best possible start to 2025, here is what the boss had to say before Sunday's tie.
There have been lots of positives since returning to training
The mood has been really good since returning to training, everyone’s been glad to see each other and the work that the players have done over Christmas has been evident as well.
We had a behind-closed-doors friendly which was great, everyone got minutes and an opportunity to play. There were some good goals in that as well, which was a positive, and this week everyone’s been diligent and focused with what we’ve got to look forward to. Fitness wise, the squad is in a good position going into the game.
I love the FA Cup and its history
The FA Cup is such an important stalwart in English football club culture. Everyone always wants to go on a cup run. For me personally, and I think it’s the same for everyone, the FA Cup is something you love from being a child, and it creates probably the most noise in football, in a good way.
I love the FA Cup, and this weekend is something that everybody is looking forward to. We’ve explained about the competition to the players who are from abroad, because everyone’s got their own versions of competitions that stand out in their country. We’ve explained about the historical nature of the competition and that it’s not just a cup, it’s got this real background and history to it.
Shekiera has settled into the squad really well
Shekiera [Martinez] and I have been in close contact in the time that she’s been on loan at Freiburg, and she had a really good first half of the season for them with goals, assists and lots of minutes. That then put her in good stead coming into the second half of the season.
I think her character and playing style suits exactly what we’re trying to do, and she’s settled into the team really well. She’s a constant goal threat, her tactical understanding out of possession is obvious, so she’s going to be a real asset to the team.
We want to hit the ground running and go on a cup run
The league is huge for us, but this is an opportunity to hit the ground running in the FA Cup. We want to make sure we give a good account of ourselves and try to go on a cup run, and to add to the improvements made over the course of the season as well.
We know it’ll be competitive and a tough game, we always expect that against Liverpool - their physical side is always evident. But it’s at our home pitch and it’s an FA Cup game, and we want to progress.
Excited to return with a home match
We’ve been away so much, and I think that was difficult for the fans in the first half of the season. For us, to get a bit of a run of form at home would be really good for the team, the fans and the Club.
