Wolves Women manager Dan McNamara has suggested that last weekend’s postponed fixture against Halifax was a blessing in disguise ahead of Sunday’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup third round tie at Hull City.
Wolves are in a strong vein of form having won three on the bounce in all competitions and netting 19 times throughout those matches however, with injury concerns in the camp last week, McNamara believes the extra days to recover have benefitted his group in a number of ways as they look to reach the fourth round once again.
On last Sunday’s postponement
“Sunday is a football day, so you want to be playing every Sunday. In hindsight and on reflection, it’s probably a good thing.
“The girls have had it tough over the last few weeks. We had eleven people training last Tuesday, so we’ve been under the cosh with regards to injuries.
“Tayls (Paul Taylor) has been working hard and the backroom staff, Tayls and Nath (Nathan Maxfield), probably saw it as a bit of a good thing.
“Selfishly, you want to be out there and getting points on the board. We’ve got to look at the positives and we’re disappointed not to have played but it’s given valuable people that extra three, four, five days to get over the little niggles and hopefully we’ll see that show itself this coming weekend.”
On recent momentum
“Ultimately, you’ve just got to try and keep that momentum going and I think the girls have done that fantastically well.
“There have been some really standout performances and we’ve almost blown a lot of the teams away, albeit they have been from the league below. There’s the expectation for us to beat teams like that.
“To do it so convincingly and with such big margins has been the most pleasing part. The clean sheets have played a big part in that as well, so I’m delighted with the girls and their application.
“We’ve got two big games now to finish off what will probably go down as another really successful 2023 for the football club.”
On the threat of Hull
“One beauty about last Sunday being off was that it gave my staff an opportunity to drive up to Hull. The analyst was up there in the cold and braving the cold because, ultimately, we’ve got to not disrespect anyone that we play.
“They’re rightly and deservedly in the third round so we’ve got to treat it as any other game. It will be tough, it always is away at Hull.
“They’ve got some great players – Ellie Tanser, Helen Lynskey and Hope Knight and all those great players that they’ve signed. Ultimately, that’s why they’re sitting top of the league and looking to get into tier three themselves next year.
“It’s important we focus on the game. This cup has brought so many great memories over the last few years, certainly the most recent one was West Ham last year and there’s no reason why we can’t do it again or go one further.
“It only takes a little bit of luck if you do go through to pull out someone again who is beatable or you get your big glamour ties – that’s what the girls want. They want to test themselves against the best in the country and this weekend is a hurdle in front of them doing that.”
On being prepared
“It’s a tough place to go, it’s a long drive up there. We’ve got to make sure that preparation’s right and make sure the girls are happy with the preparations on the day.
“We’ve done it before. We’ve proved we can go on long journeys and win games of football. We look at Burnley at the end of last year, we look at some of the results we’ve had at Burnley this year – we’ve had some good results on the road, so it’s business as usual for us.
“The players will work hard this week and they’ll be ready to execute whatever game plan the staff and I put together. We look forward to the challenge that Hull will pose.
“It’s probably not going to be the nicest of pitches and it’s not going to have those home comforts of Telford, but it’s important the girls rise to it.
“It’s these kind of games and these kind of wins that get you into those memory ties, but you’ve got to focus and make sure you get through the more difficult ones as we plan to do so on Sunday.”
