Liverpool boss sets points target amid hopes to ‘ruin’ hero’s return

Liverpool manager Matt Beard is eyeing a leap out of the Women’s Super League basement.
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The newly-promoted Reds looked primed to disrupt the division as they kicked off their first WSL campaign in two years with a 2-1 win over holders Chelsea, but their early promise soon faded as Beard’s side fell to five consecutive league defeats.

An injury to striker Leanne Kiernan, who scored 13 goals in Liverpool’s promotion-winning season, proved challenging as Beard’s side only netted two goals in their first six games.

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This month, though, the Reds have put further points on the board with successive 3-3 draws, finally unleashing their attacking potential while slowly putting distance between themselves and the bottom of the table.

In his weekly column for Liverpoolfc.com, Beard expressed hope that his team can keep up the momentum when they host West Ham United, a side he previously managed, on Sunday.

“Our main focus is to try to get all three points,” Beard wrote. “I’ve had some good times at every club I’ve been at, but all I care about is Liverpool and making sure we pick up three points. We know that we’ve got players in our team that can hurt the opposition and we’ve proved it over the course of the season.

“We are in a run of games now where we have gone three games without defeat, so it’s important we keep that run going. The big thing for me is we need to keep picking points up, so even if we can’t win the game we’ve got to make sure we take a point.

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“We’ve now got back-to-back home games in the WSL against West Ham and Leicester City, and if we could get the six points out of them that would be a great return for the first half of the season, especially with the way our injuries have panned out and the tough run of fixtures we have had.”

As the Reds hunt their first WSL win since September, it’ll be a memorable occasion for Beard, who faces his former side for the first time since departing in 2020.

Liverpool captain Gilly Flaherty will also fight her former club, while Hammers midfielder Kate Longhurst returns to Merseyside after dedicating five seasons of her career to the Reds between 2013 and 2018, when Beard was in post as Liverpool boss.

“West Ham obviously have a familiar face who was popular with the Liverpool supporters in Kate Longhurst,” wrote Beard, who is eighteen months into his second stint at the helm.

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“Kate is a fantastic character and she is a very versatile and good football player. When I signed her back in 2013, she was playing up front and I played her in midfield. She has been playing at centre-back this season for West Ham, and that just shows her maturity and versatility.

“Kate is a winner and it will be great to see her after the game, but she is a West Ham player, a West Ham fan – hopefully we can ruin her return!”