New West Ham head coach Rita Guarino had a painful introduction to life in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
Her side were beaten 5-0 by defending WSL champions Chelsea – conceding the first goal in the opening minute.
However, the Hammers were 4-0 down at half-time, and the Italian was pleased with an improved second-half performance – praising the “spirit and character” of her players throughout.
“The commitment is very high,” she told the club’s official website. “It’s about how to be more organised in different situations, to not concede too much space to the opponent. It’s about organisation. I think we were better in the second half.”
And with bottom club Liverpool picking up a point in a goalless draw against London City Lionesses, West Ham are now only a single point ahead of them.
“It’s extremely important to stay together,” added Guarino. “[It’s important] that we stay on the same page. It’s tough. We need to improve a lot, we need time to improve, so that’s very, very important.”
Rita Guarino: We can learn
West Ham’s next game is in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup, as they travel to WSL2 side Newcastle United on Friday.
The Magpies are currently fourth in the league – but Guarino can perhaps take some confidence from the fact that they have lost to the two top-tier clubs they faced in the Subway Women’s League Cup this season.
“The motivation is on the process, I’m very focused on that. Every day we can learn and be better. We want to make some improvement, but also obtain results.”
Defender Verena Hanshaw also spoke to the club website, explaining: “Rita said at the half-time we need to show character. We need to stay in the game. The worst thing that can happen is if our heads are not there anymore, and this is what we tried to do, and for the most time we did that well in the second half, but all in all, it was not enough.”
She added: “I think we slowly started to build our principles, which is very important. She showed us how she wants to play and to find solutions. It’s a process, it will take time, but for now we’re all really happy with her.”
