Following on from a ‘surprise’ start v USA last month, Birmingham’s Jo Potter is heading to Cyprus in determined mood writes TONY LEIGHTON.
After a sterling performance in England’s game against the USA last month Birmingham City’s Jo Potter is heading to the Cyprus Cup determined to cement her place in Mark Sampson’s squad for the summer’s World Cup finals.
Potter was a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up of the side that went down 1-0 to the US, but her solid work in the centre of midfield justified her selection.
She now has the chance to further impress head coach Sampson at the annual Cyprus tournament, in which England have group games against Finland, Australia and the Netherlands before finals day on Wednesday 11 March.
“I was shocked when I was told that I’d be starting against America,” admitted Potter, “but it was also flattering that Mark Sampson thought I was the right person to take on the job he wanted doing in midfield.
“I felt that (central midfield partner) Jill Scott and me helped nullify the threat of the opposition coming through the centre of the park, and although we lost narrowly there were lots of positives we could take out of the game as a team.
“We’ll take those positives into the Cyprus Cup and aim to go one better than last year by getting to the final but this time winning it.
“The most important thing about the tournament, though, is the time together as a squad it’s going to give us to step up our preparations for the World Cup.
“I’m sure that all 23 players in the squad will get some decent game time as well as some great training sessions in a really good environment.
“The tournament is perfect timing in terms of our build-up to the World Cup, and I’m sure that every player – and definitely me! – will be out to stake a claim for a place in the squad that goes to Canada for the finals.”
Having been in training with her club team Birmingham since early January, Potter’s fitness levels are high as she looks forward to not only the Cyprus Cup but also the start of the Women’s Super League season later this month.
Blues came agonisingly close to winning the league last year, when one more goal in their final game of the season would have given them the title.
Instead they had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Notts County and a third place finish behind champions Liverpool and runners-up Chelsea.
“It was a cruel end to the season,” said Potter, 30, as she looked back. “We were absolutely devastated on the day, but we refused to dwell on it.
“Since we’ve been back in training we’ve not even discussed the end of last season, we’ve been totally focused on what’s ahead of us.
“We’ve added a couple of quality players to the squad so we should be stronger than last year, when we came so close to winning the league after being one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season.
“People will be looking at other teams than Birmingham as potential title winners again this year, but that won’t bother us – it’s always suited us being the underdogs and we’ll go about our business with confidence in our ability.
“We’ll be aiming to win a trophy, just like England are aiming to lift the trophy at the Cyprus Cup. After losing our last two games to Germany and America we need to get back to winning ways ahead of the World Cup – and that’s the plan!”
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