Emma Hayes believes squad rotation will be key to Chelsea's pursuit of retaining their Women's Super League crown.
The Blues host Liverpool in a rearranged fixture, knowing they need to win to keep the destiny of the title in their own hands. After they were knocked out of the UEFA Women's Champions League by Barcelona last week, Hayes' side must now pick themselves up for a run of six games in just 24 days, as they look to win the league and the FA Cup final.
Chelsea were handed a major blow ahead of the Liverpool test, with the news England star Fran Kirby would be out for the rest of the season and miss out on their bid to win a double. But Hayes believes her squad's strength in depth will see them through a busy final month of the campaign.
"Rotation is something we have to look at purely because of how many important games we have coming up," said Hayes. "We haven’t flogged the same 11 players all year, we’ve rotated often and I suspect that will be the same for this final block given the run of games we have.
"We’ve got players coming back, we’ve been missing a lot of good attacking options.
"Pernille Harder is now back and that will really help us in this final block of games. We’ve got a lot to play for and we have to keep grinding until the end to see what rewards we can get."
Harder returned in the semi-final against Barcelona, coming off the bench in both legs after being out injured since last November. The Blues may well need her firepower with Kirby missing, while key forward Sam Kerr has also looked fatigued in recent weeks. Chelsea currently trail Man United by seven points but have three games in hand.
"It’s going to be a gruelling 24 days for us," said Hayes. "The fact we’ve not played in the WSL for a month says so much but at the same time, I don’t know where we could have played in that time. It’s a scheduling nightmare.
"We just have to focus on the run of games that we’ve got coming up and we’ve just got to keep chipping away to get points on the board."
Hayes also reflected on the initial fixture date against Liverpool, saying it was one of the most frustrating days in her coaching career. The Reds travelled to Kingsmeadow back in January but the game was abandoned after just five minutes, with players struggling for grip on the frozen surface.
The Chelsea boss took to the stadium PA that day to offer every fan who came to the rearranged fixture a hot dog, and she confirmed the promise would be upheld on Wednesday evening.
"It absolutely was (a frustrating day) and there are a lot of learnings we have to take from that for us as a club," said Hayes. "But everyone who comes tomorrow will get a hot dog, which I promised.
"I know it's not much. But it is a small token of appreciation for the fans who came out on that day."
NEW! Our Year: European Champions 2022 - The Official England Winners Book
With a foreword by England manager Sarina Wiegman, this is the only official book of the historic triumph, reliving every kick of a thrilling tournament and telling the stories of the players who made it all happen.
Order from https://reachsportshop.com/book/our-year-european-champion-2022/
