LEICESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Leicester City Women manager Willie Kirk during the Leicester City Women press conference at Belvoir Drive Training Complex on November 24, 2023 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Willie Kirk, the head coach of Leicester City, believes that his team needs to aim for a lengthy run in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup this year.
On Saturday afternoon, the Foxes take on Birmingham City at the Pirelli Stadium in a fifth-round tie. If Leicester City wins that game, it might only take them 180 minutes of football to reach the Wembley final.
Kirk stated that Leicester City has to aim for both a top half of the table finish and a prolonged FA Cup run in his media appearances prior to this weekend’s match.
When asked about the likelihood of an FA Cup run, Kirk responded, “It’s really important.” “We never set limits for the team, and considering where we were, finishing in the top half of the standings would be a huge accomplishment in and of itself.”Every FA Cup is unique, and you never know what will transpire at this point.” I was there previously with a club that had somewhat fewer or comparable resources. It’s reasonable to believe that [you can succeed] if you have a few lucky breaks and occasionally a good draw.
To reach the championship game, you’ll have to defeat formidable opponents, and Birmingham is only one stop on the route. You get a little bit closer with each round, but we won’t search much farther than that.
“We have to aim to advance as far as we can in the competition.”
“Every FA Cup is unique, and you never know what will transpire at this point.” I was there previously with a club that had somewhat fewer or comparable resources. It’s reasonable to believe that [you can succeed] if you have a few lucky breaks and occasionally a good draw.
To reach the championship game, you’ll have to defeat formidable opponents, and Birmingham is only one stop on the route. You get a little bit closer with each round, but we won’t search much farther than that.
Kirk continues by predicting that his team will face a rival that fits a similar mold while talking about Birmingham City.
He said “They’re actually not hugely different from us in terms of style. In the statistics and the data, where we place ourselves in the WSL, they’re very similar in terms of what their strengths are and the areas that they’ll want to improve on. It’s data that’s important to us, everybody will look at different performance indicators but I certainly think their style is quite similar. They like aggressive press and are happy to go player-for-player at times.
“They’re one of four or five teams in the Championship that could come up. If they do come up, I think they’ll be well-placed, probably better placed than the rest of the teams in terms of having a squad that could play in the WSL. They’ve got a lot of experience, players like Jade Moore, Remi Allen, Claudia Walker, Martha Harris; they’ve got great WSL minutes under their belts already.
“It’ll be a really tough test and our players know that. If they don’t show up and do the basics very well, Birmingham will progress and not us.”
Leicester City’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Birmingham City is scheduled to take place at the Pirelli Stadium at 12pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets will be available to purchase on the day.
