'The girls were absolutely fantastic'

Shelley Kerr spoke to Arsenal.com after Arsenal Ladies advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Women's Cup with a 6-0 win over Birmingham City Ladies.

on the performance…
I thought the girls were absolutely fantastic tonight. It took us a little bit of time to get into the game but after we did, I thought we played some marvellous stuff.

on if the win has laid down a marker to domestic rivals…
I suppose you could say that. What we are keen on doing is playing the passing game that has an end product. We want to play attractive football. Sometimes that comes off for you and sometimes it doesn't. We are adopting good habits all the time and trying to add consistency to our passing play. Tonight the little combinations came off, we were clinical in front of goal and had some fantastic individual performances. As a team I thought we were outstanding.

on a good start to her reign…
It hasn't been easy for the girls. There is always an apprehension about things when a new coach comes in. They seem to have gelled together and bonded further as a team off the pitch. I think you can see that. They play as if they do everything together and that's always going to be a bonus for you as a team.

on facing Liverpool in the semi-finals…
It's never an easy game. The scoreline tonight would suggest it was easy but I don't think it ever is. The further you go in a competition, the harder it becomes. This group of players are really hungry and I still think they are hurting from not winning the FA Cup last year. They played like that today.

on becoming increasingly match fit...
It was a difficult hurdle for us tonight. We had six or seven players away on international duty last week and that takes its toll on you as a team but I think the girls have come back and responded in the right way. Last night we had to make sure that the players were all recovered properly but we were conscious to get them all together as a team rather than doing nothing at all. I think that definitely helps.

on increasing confidence ahead of VfL Wolfsburg game…
I hit home all the time that you have to build foundations. In the last three games that we've had, we haven't conceded a goal and that's a real starting point. The girls know it's important not to concede because it gives you that platform on which to attack. It gives you confidence to score goals in all areas of the pitch. Some of the passages of play were excellent tonight and that's something we've implanted in the players' heads. We know that Sunday won't be easy. It's a different game in a different competition so we have to regroup, train on Thursday and then get ourselves prepared for Sunday.