Little on new signings, UWCL and PSG: transcript

With the Women's Champions League quarter-finals a week away, there was plenty to be discussed at Kim Little's press conference.

Our captain was asked about everything from playing behind closed doors to what it will be like to come up against Formiga.

Read on for a full transcript:

on improving against the bigger teams...

You can see that even over the past couple of years when we've come up against Chelsea, Man City and these tougher opponents, on more times than not we haven't succeeded or we've not ended the games we wanted. It's definitely something Joe's brought up about these pressure moments and what we can do to come out of those games on top, because ultimately those are the games that win you the league or put you through in the Champions League. It's definitely something we're aware of and have been trying to improve. 

on whether we're in better shape now than we would have been in March...

Yeah I think so. We had quite a few injuries just before the pandemic. The squad was a little bit limited in terms of numbers but now obviously with that time away from football, we've all been able to recover well and come back into training to be ready to play. It's been great to be back in with the girls and to be training with more numbers and everyone fit. I'm looking forward to having that depth in the team now. I think it puts us in a much better place now for the start of the season and especially for the Champions League. 

on whether PSG are slightly ahead physically because of the French Cup...

I wouldn't say it's a concern, it is what is is. In terms of competitiveness and that kind of intensity of competitive games, it maybe gives them a little bit of an edge but come the game next week - and the fact it's a one-off knock-out game - that also gives us a little bit of an advantage too. I don't think it'll play too much of a part but I think definitely having that [competitive practice recently] would've been preferred, but we couldn't have that this year. We just need to take it as it is and prepare ourselves as well as we can. 

on whether she prefers the idea of a straight knock-out game...

Do I prefer it? I think Champions League football has always been two legs, home and away. Within the season, when you're in that competition in Europe, it's quite a nice change to the domestic season. But for this circumstance, one we're able to finish this season's Champions League which is what we all wanted, and then also with it being the start of the season and the first competitive games back, it's a great way to start it. I'm looking forward to it, there's a lot more pressure on one game and one situation. 

on how much the Champions League means to the group...

That speaks for itself, that the club won it in 2007. Of course it means a lot and it's the biggest competition in club football. We're grateful to be a part of it. We're going to give everything we can next week and then hopefully progress through the tournament into the final. 

on how tough preparations have been with the pandemic protocols...

It's all very different to what we're used to. There's a lot more protocols and testing, and rules that we have to adhere to, but I think we've all adapted to them pretty well. As humans, you just adapt and change with the way things need to be. Although away from the football pitch things have been a bit different, back on the pitch we're in the team and able to train the way we want by being together. That's the most important thing. 

on Sarina Wiegman being appointed England head coach...

I don't think it's a surprise. I think it was quite evident that the FA wanted to put in a female coach this time around and she's obviously one of the front runners because of her success with the Dutch team over the past few years. You can see what she's done for the Netherlands, with them winning the Euros and then getting to the World Cup final last summer. She's shown her strengths as a coach and I think it's a great appointment for England. 

on whether there are concerns about new players fitting in...

For me, I don't have any concerns. It's just been great and fun to be back training with the team again. Obviously with the new faces we've signed as well. Naturally it takes a little bit of time to find your feet and get links with new players, but with the way we play and how Joe and our coaching staff implement our philosophy, how we do things, it's gone very naturally. All the new players have fitted in very well. There's no real concerns, we're just all very excited to play football for points and to win competitions. We're just looking forward to that. 

on her injury...

I had surgery in February and I've obviously been rehabbing most of the time during the pandemic, being away from the club. I came back into pre-season ready to go with the team, so I've just been progressing my fitness and getting back to the team training, the football aspect and the contact. I'm in a good place and I'm ready to go. 

on whether not being in next season's UWCL makes them hungrier...

Yeah, I think we're obviously disappointed to not be there next season. If we win the competition, does that mean we qualify? I don't know. Becs, is that right? I don't know if that's a thing. But yeah, we're making the most of the time we're in this competition. It doesn't come around too often in your career, to play these kinds of games and especially with how competitive the league is in England now, there are several teams that have the opportunity to push for those top two spots. Although we're disappointed for next year, we're just focusing on this moment and we're grateful to be a part of it this season. 

on what her role has been during the lockdown and uncertainty...

Within our team, we've got great people and leaders throughout. It's not just myself. We've all been more than team-mates, maybe more like friends through lockdown, to check in with each other and make sure everyone's OK. I think we've all played our part in that. 

on what she's made of the new signings in training...

We've made four signings this season, two Swiss players and two Australians. They've been great. Two young players in Malin [Gut] and Noelle [Maritz], and they've fitted in very well. The style that Joe wants, he's signed players who are able to adapt to that, to come in and make an impact. They've done really well and I'm looking forward to playing with them competitively. Again, with the Australian players, they're two world-class players who have so much experience behind them and will add so much to our team. I'm looking forward to having them in the team at the start of these competitive matches. 

on what sort of threat she's expecting from PSG...

We look at the games they've played and they played Lyon, and always seem quite close although Lyon always seem to come out on top. They're two great teams and have been so dominant in European football and getting to the later stages of this competition. We're very aware of their strengths and what they'll pose for us to try to beat them. We believe that we've got enough talent in our squad to compete with them and win.

on how they prepare for possibly playing three games in a short space of time...

We've got one game set up and I feel like we've just been focusing on that, and then we'll take it as it comes if we progress. It's quite a unique situation for a club competition to have this knock-out tournament just in itself. But I think a lot of us are experienced in that. We've played in major tournaments and other cup games where it's just a one-off game, so mentally we'll be prepared for that. Then physically we've prepared knowing that it could be a possibility to play that many games in 10 days. We're ready on both parts. 

on appreciating the UWCL even more after being off for so long...

I think so. I think we've all come back with an even bigger appreciation for football than we had before, although it was high before. It's just that feeling of training being great, but we all just want to play and compete. What better way to start it than a quarter-final in the Champions League? We can't wait. 

on whether she picked up any new skills during lockdown...

I was actually out gardening two seconds ago! I'm not sure that's a skill but I'm attempting that. 

on replicating the usual intensity without any fans...

I wouldn't say we've focused on that at all or worked on that kind of thing. We've played friendly matches as behind-closed-doors games. We actually played at Villa Park a couple of weeks ago against Aston Villa and that was in a stadium with no fans there. I wouldn't say we've focused on that too much. The fact that it's a Champions League game, we've not played a competitive game in a while, will provide the intensity and atmosphere, and the feeling that we need. 

on going straight into the WSL season afterwards...

It's a very unique situation. Normally you're finishing the season with the Champions League but this time it's the start. We just need to be aware that as soon as we're back in England, we're preparing for the Reading game. We can't afford to take our foot off the pedal at all. We need to be focused on that too and ready for Reading. Hopefully these games before the start of the league, within the Champions League - whether it's one, two or three games - will put us in a good place and ready for the start of the season. 

on whether they'll be watching Glasgow play the night before...

I'm not sure, I don't know what the circumstances are when we're out there. We fly out two days before and I presume it will be quite restricted with what we're doing because of the pandemic and being in a bubble. I'm unsure what will happen there, but I'm sure we'll be watching on telly if not to see what teams we could potentially be up against if we're successful.

on whether they've been working on penalties...

It is actually something we've been working on. It's how we've been finishing our pre-season games. Regardless of the result, we've been doing penalty shoot-outs to prepare ourselves for the situation that could very much occur in the knock-out stages because of the format. It's something we've been preparing ourselves for in case that happened.

on whether the temperature in the UK has helped prepare them for Spain...

I hope so! I don't particularly enjoy playing in the heat, especially as it has been in London for the past week or so. But I hope it's had some benefits and will prepare us better for next week in Spain. 

on playing against Formiga...

It's quite incredible [that Formiga is 42]. I think we played against Brazil maybe last year or the year before and she was 40 then. To have played the game at the level she has until that age is pretty incredible, so of course being on the same pitch with her at this stage, we should all be appreciative of that. 

on whether they're excited or nervous...

I wouldn't say I feel nerves at all yet, that will come closer to the match. I think it's just an excitement and an anticipation to start playing again and to start playing competitively. I'm sure there will be some nerves with the players before because of the scale of the game, but at the moment it's very much excitement. 

on how they've bonded with the new players during the pandemic...

As I said before, we've got a great squad of girls and great relationships with each other, even away from football. We've just tried to connect with each other and try to stay in touch as much as possible to make sure everyone's OK. We did a few Zoom things when it was right in the middle of the pandemic and then with the new signings, they came over in July. Although we're limited to what we can do outside of training right now, we've all made a conscious effort to make everyone feel involved. That's always the case when you make new signings and have new people at the club. We all make the effort and know how hard it can be to come to a new place. We all make sure we make everyone feel as welcome as possible.