Town Women’s boss Joe Sheehan believes his side will be facing the strongest team in WSL2 when they host Birmingham City at the JobServe Community Stadium in Colchester on Sunday afternoon (KO 2pm, live on YouTube).
The Midlanders, second last season, two points behind title winners London City Lionesses, are currently in the same position in the table behind leaders Charlton having taken 10 points from their first five matches, although having been beaten 2-1 at home by Southampton last weekend.
"A team that had a brilliant season last year, that had the chance of getting promoted on the final day and will probably feel like they did enough to achieve the result that would have got them promotion, but just fell short,” Sheehan said.
"A team that has got a rich history in the women’s game, that have played in both the top division and the current division that they’re in.
"Have had some brilliant players come out of the club that have gone on to play an important part in the success of England’s recent history and a team that are currently on the up trying to get into the division above that have had some real good investment, which is evident across the men as well.
"A really well-coached team that’s going to be a really exciting but challenging team for us.
"We’re probably facing the strongest team in the league as it stands, despite suffering a defeat last week. They’ve been hugely impressive, which is no surprise to us. An occasion we’re looking forward to, excited for the challenge.”
Sheehan’s side sit second bottom of the table having been beaten 3-2 at Sheffield United last week, a result which saw the Blades move above them with Portsmouth at the foot.
"I think we’ve done OK,” the Blues boss reflected on the opening few weeks of the team’s first-ever second-tier season. "I think we’ve grown with each game, with each experience.
"Largely, the growth has been quite positive. We obviously had a hiccup last week, but other than that there have been some positive signs from the group and we’ve said a few times that there are a lot experiencing the level for the first time and they’re taking to it pretty well.
"There are certainly bits we’re quite pleased and encouraged by but, of course, there are parts of our game that we still want to improve and we know we’ve still got some players to come back, which can help the group.”
He says players are growing in their belief that they are capable of excelling in the WSL2: "I think the level of performances, particularly from players like Leah [Mitchell], would suggest that she feels she really belongs at the level because I think she’s won Player of the Match on a couple of occasions, certainly for our team.
"They’ve got to step up, they know that they’ve got to have the courage and the belief to compete at the level, which isn’t always easy for inexperienced young players who haven’t featured in the division, especially ones who might be playing out of position.
"Asking them to play with courage and belief and compete to their best of the capability is something we’re always working on because I think players that believe in themselves and have confidence to perform will perform better than those that don’t.
"Hopefully with more positive performances and positive results, that belief and that courage will continue to be evident in the performances of the individuals, and obviously the team.”
The opening weeks have, however, been impacted by significant injury issues, which persist going into Sunday’s match.
"We’ve not had the best of moments because Kyra [Robertson] got injured, came back from injury and then got tonsillitis, which ruled her out, although she returned to the bench last week.
"Sophie Baigent has returned to the group training having had a back injury, but then she took a bit of a bump to the head so she’s got a bit of a gash above her eye that keeps opening up, so that’s also impacting her ability to be available at the moment.
"Ruby Doe’s still a little bit away and probably won’t feature before the international break, same for Lucy O’Brien. And we’ve had a little bit of sickness to deal with as well.
"It’s not ideal, but losing Beth Roe to suspension [following her red card last week] as well is another thing to add to that.
"I’m trying to think if I’ve missed anybody! We almost get there and then we lose the odd one or two.
"Maddy Earl’s been managed this week because she’s picked up quite a nasty bruise around her foot, so she didn’t train yesterday. Started against Leicester and did well and should have started against Portsmouth but felt unwell overnight, so that was a late change to our team.
"We’re hoping that we can start to get good depth, good availability and a nice flow throughout our week to help everybody compete for a spot.”
Sheehan admits that ideally he would like to have picked a more settled side as the team found their feet having stepped up a level.
"That would be great for us and certainly for a team that’s new to the division, with a lot of players that are new to the division, it doesn’t help when you have some absentees and it affects selection and depth at times as well,” he said.
"We’ve managed to work our way through it to the best of our abilities and we’re hoping after the international break that everyone will be back really competing for positions and also with that added depth as well, which enables to be in a stronger position to make changes to try and win the game.
"I think Charlton’s a great example where we were really in the game at 0-0 and we only had four outfielders on the bench at that time, and you’re thinking should we try and twist and try and push for a winner or do we take what we’ve got?
"If we can find ourselves in a position where we’ve got more players available on the bench, it gives us a little bit more opportunity to change stuff in more areas than one.”
Positive news on the injury front is that Sheehan believes Charlotte Fleming, who has been out since last November having suffered an ACL injury, and Shauna Guyatt, who has had an MCL problem since the end of last season, are now able to start matches.
"It’s difficult because for those two, the period of absence has been quite significant,” he said. "Charlotte got a good bank of minutes against Leicester, Shauna a smaller amount.
"At the moment it’s about them continuing their progress, really. I think probably both are ready to start games, which is good, but we have to make sure we’re making the right calls at the right time for the right reasons.
"But the Subway League Cup games help as well, enabling us to change a few players, which can be helpful to players in those circumstances to get important minutes.”