Matt Beard believes his Liverpool side are starting to find some consistency in the Women's Super League, but admits it's taken them longer than they anticipated.
The Reds claimed a point against their Merseyside rivals Everton last time out, but it could've been more after Leighanne Robe had a goal controversially ruled out in the second half. Now, they're set to take on West Ham as they look upwards in the table, rather than behind.
Belief is high in the Liverpool squad, and the Reds boss is comfortable with the progress they've made so far this term. "We've always had the belief," Beard told the media on Friday.
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"I think because we're playing against top teams week in, week out, to get that level of consistency takes a little bit of time. Last year, there was probably three or four teams where it was tough and that's no disrespect to the Championship, that's just how it was.
"We've always had the belief, we knew it was going to be an up and down season. We didn't anticipate the injury list we've had over the course of the year and that's had some impact on the results over the course of the season.
"We're starting to find that consistency now. We are where we always thought we would be at the start of the season. For us now, we've got our sights on West Ham and Everton (above them in the table) and that's our target and where we want to go."
Liverpool will be without Melissa Lawley, Leanne Kiernan, Natasha Dowie and captain Niamh Fahey for the trip to West Ham on Sunday evening. However, with it being the last game before an international break, the Liverpool boss hopes they can use that time to build fitness among those currently sidelined.
Beard continued: "Mel just had a reaction on the hip. She's progressing well, so hopefully we're coming to the end of that and it's about building her back up. We've arranged a few friendlies in the coming weeks and months when we're not playing so we can get everyone fit for the run-in."
The Reds have had mixed results against the Hammers this season. In the reverse WSL fixture, it was Liverpool who emerged victorious with a 2-0 win at Prenton Park.
However, when the two sides met in the Conti Cup quarter-finals back in January, it was their opponents who secured the win on that occasion with a late goal from Dagny Brynjarsdottir. On Sunday, the Hammers will be without Jess Ziu and Amber Tysiak with the former still recovering from an ACL injury.
As things stand, Liverpool are eighth in the table and just a single point behind West Ham with a game in hand. Victory on Sunday would elevate them to seventh with kick-off at the Chigwell Contstruction Stadium at 5pm.
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