Aston Villa Women’s defender Natalie Haigh says her side can take inspiration from the men’s team in their battle to avoid relegation from the Women’s Super League.
Villa Women, who were promoted from the Championship last year, are currently second bottom of the WSL with two wins from nine games, with their most recent result being a 7-0 defeat away at Manchester City.
It’s a similar position to where the Villa men’s team found themselves in the Premier League last year. Villa avoided relegation on the last day of the season with a draw at West Ham, and this campaign they are pushing for a Europa League spot.
Haigh says that her side can take inspiration from Dean Smith’s side’s vast improvement over the last 12 months.
She said: “Dean and the staff have done a really good job. They’re a really good example of a club who haven’t just gone ‘we nearly got relegated let’s sack the manager’, they’ve shown some faith in him. It was one hell of a rescue mission at the end of last year, but look at what he’s done with a bit of time, a stable squad and a bit of consistency. I know our staff have shared some pearls of wisdom with them and things like that.
“The men are a really good inspiration to us and we don’t want it to be as nail biting as their finish was last year, we hope we can get more points on the board and push towards mid-table. Who’s to say in three or five years that Aston Villa women can’t be in the Champions League or in Europe?”
The former University of Gloucestershire student believes that Villa can take inspiration from other sides in the WSL too. Despite sitting dangerously close to the relegation zone, Haigh wants to see the club stick by manager Gemma Davies as they look to establish themselves as a WSL club.
“You look at Arsenal women. The coach there has done a great job there over a period of time. Emma Hayes at Chelsea has built a team that will challenge in every competition this year. We trust in Gemma. She’s a brilliant young coach with a brilliant mind. She knows that there’s things she needs to learn and she’s open and honest about that. We know and trust that she does the work behind the scenes.”
Haigh and Villa are back in action on Sunday as they host mid-table Reading at Walsall’s Banks’s Stadium.
It’s a game Davies’ side will be looking to get something with Reading only eight points clear of Villa having played three games more, and Haigh is confident the players will show a reaction from the Manchester City thrashing.
“The beauty of this job is that you don’t get time to dwell. We have another really important game on Saturday and we’re confident that if we execute our game plan correctly we can go out there and get something.
“If I think back to the start of the season against Everton we had a heavy defeat and we came back and won our next game, it was a cup game but football is all about momentum and a win is a win. That’s what we’re aiming to do Saturday.”
