Liverpool boss Matt Beard has admitted his side may need "one more win" to guarantee their survival in the Women's Super League.
The Reds are currently eighth in the table, four places and six points above the drop zone. A hard-fought victory over Tottenham in March followed by back-to-back draws away to Everton and West Ham means Liverpool look almost certain to retain their top-flight status beyond the end of this season.
However, the Liverpool boss has insisted his players need to "keep their feet on the ground" and look to finish this season strongly, starting with this weekend's clash against 10th-placed Brighton at Prenton Park.
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"I think with the way results have gone we probably need one more win to guarantee our safety," Beard said in his pre-match press conference.
"We’re not under any pressure. I think the points we’ve got now are enough but we’re not going to take that for granted. I’ve said to the girls we need to keep our feet on the ground and keep working hard.
"I think West Ham was a missed opportunity, especially with the way the game panned out but we’re doing okay and the great thing for me is we’ve got a lot of bodies coming back and with more competition for places we can try and kick on."
Liverpool's attacking ranks look set to be bolstered by the return of attacking duo Melissa Lawley and Natasha Dowie this weekend. The duo haven't featured in the matchday squad since February's narrow defeat to Leicester, and Beard is hopeful their return will help give the Reds the edge over Brighton.
"We played Spurs in a behind closed doors friendly [in the international break] to get minutes into those players that haven’t had many minutes this season. We’ve had a pretty long injury list in the second half of the season so it was great to get minutes for Natasha Dowie and Mel Lawley.
"We’ve tried to manage it as best we can but it has been a frustrating schedule in the second half of the season. It’s been stop-start and it has had an impact on a few of the injuries we’ve had this year.
"It’s great to have them back for the run in. It’s the business part of the season so it’s great to have some forward options and to be able to change the game from the bench and make the impact substitutes."
Brighton will travel to Merseyside buoyed by their 3-2 victory over Everton in midweek, with new head coach Melissa Phillips having seemingly made an instant impact at Broadfield Stadium. The Reds drew 3-3 when the two sides met in the reverse fixture in November and Beard believes his side will have to be at their best if they are to take all three points at Prenton Park on Sunday.
"Mel’s a good manager and she’s made a fantastic impact already," he said. "Brighton are a good team. It’s a fantastic set up and they’ve got some good players there.
"I guess they lost their way a little bit at the start of the year but looking at the rest of the fixtures I think they’ll be okay. It’s going to be a tough game but we’re looking forward to it."
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