Emma Hayes has admitted she will have to call on "every single player" in her squad if Chelsea are to successfully navigate a congested fixture list in the coming weeks.
The Blues are set to take on Reading the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday before travelling to Lyon for a meeting with the reigning European Champions in the UEFA Women's Champions League on Wednesday night. A trip to title rivals Manchester City will follow on March 26, while the second-leg of the UWCL quarter-finals will round off four games in just 12 days for Chelsea.
While Hayes admits it's going to be a demanding spell for the league leaders, she is confident her squad is well-equipped to deal with the challeges coming their way.
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"It’s par for the course for this time of year,’ she said in her pre-Reading press conference. "We have to roll with it. We had it last week with Manchester United. Guro was sick before the game, we had a couple of injuries.
"The whole squad has worked so hard so each and every one of us is able to play their best part. I know what we’ve developed over time. We’ve built a team to cope with these situations.
"Our goal is to make sure not only we’re competing, but everybody feels like they can play their part. The squad I talk about so much every week will certainly come into play in the next few weeks. We’re going to need every single player."
It's been a successful few weeks for a number of individuals within the Chelsea squad - with both Lauren James and Sam Kerr scooping accolades at the London Football Awards - and Hayes said she is delighted to see her players earning individual recognition.
"We celebrate all their achievements in-house. We had Ann [Katrin Berger] who was nominated for top three goalkeepers in the world [at the FIFA Best awards], we had Jessie Fleming [nominated for FIFA Best women's player], and Sam and Lauren at the LFA awards.
"Internally we always celebrate their individual success as part of a team. That’s something we’ve done as a tradition ever since I’ve been here."
Chelsea scored two without reply when Arsenal visited Kingsmeadow in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, while Reading beat Tottenham on penalties to earn their passage to the quarter-finals. The past week has seen plenty of debate surrounding the disparity in men's and women's FA Cup prize money and Hayes is a strong advocate for ensuring the spoils are equal in both competitions.
"The reason there should be more prize money is not about the top teams, it’s about the teams throughout the pyramid. The opportunity to host an FA Cup game and get something from it is equally critical," she said.
"We’re seeing incremental growth, but of course it’s not the level anybody wants it to be at. My hope is one day we can get to a place we don’t have this conversation and the smaller clubs can be looked after."
She added: "We still have to put in place mechanisms to make sure that happens. There’s still so much work to be done. I’m always invested in making sure the whole game keeps benefitting from the success of any of the teams in it."
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