Aston Villa Women: Alisha Lehmann portray side brimming with confidence in WSL
There has always been a best-of-the-rest in the WSL – Everton took the spot two seasons ago, Tottenham secured it last season, and Aston Villa are now in the hunt for this fifth-place finish after a stellar start to the season.
An opening day 3-2 victory over Manchester City has been backed up by wins over Leicester, Liverpool and Reading, with Carla Ward’s side propelling themselves into the WSL limelight, and quite rightly so.
Ward has got Villa’s star summer signing Rachel Daly scoring goals for fun since her arrival – having netted eight goals in seven games – and now faces a stern test at Old Trafford this weekend in front of a record-breaking 30,000 fans.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Villa forward Alisha Lehmann outlined the hive of positivity that Ward has produced this season, and how the team are gunning for a top-five finish in the WSL this season.
She said: “We want to end the season in top five, that’s our aim and I think we can do even more because I see the full potential of the team.
“We just need to perform and maybe score a bit more – that’s a bit of our problem, being more efficient in the box, but I see a bright future for us. Everyone’s dream is to play in the Champions League and anything can happen.”
A top-five finish is by no means out of the equation for Villa this season, and they should actually count themselves as favourites for that position considering their recent form.
Three consecutive wins after the international break see Ward’s side sit above sixth-place West Ham on goal difference, and then a further three points ahead of Everton and Tottenham.
The coming month will be a marker of how far this Villa team have come in the past month with fixtures against United, Arsenal and Manchester City all before the new year.
If Ward can navigate these tricky matches and come out with confidence intact, Lehmann’s best-of-the-rest prediction could still be on the cards as the season draws to its conclusion.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton believes Emi Martinez must improve his distribution under Unai Emery.