The Scotsman will take his side to face newly-promoted Bristol City at Ashton Gate for a 2pm BST kick-off, but despite going back to a place he knows well, he explained how all games this season will be difficult.
Hoping to start the 2023/24 campaign on a high, and carry on from where they left off last season in which they overturned a 10p-oint deficit, here are the main talking points from his chat with the media…
Summer signings
The ‘summer of change’ has seen nine new signings come through the door at Leicester, including full-back Courtney Nevin and fan favourite Janina Leitzig who made their loan moves permanent following impressive spells last term.
Among the new faces include German striker Lena Petermann, who netted in a pre-season victory over Everton and Belgium’s most-capped player, Janice Cayman. When asked about how pre-season preparations had gone, the manager was keen to commend the work done by the recruitment team.
“We knew we needed to upgrade the squad,” Kirk opened with. “It was a natural process as we had so many out of contract. We identified the ones we wanted to keep, and then the ones we wanted to bring in. It was quite natural – similar to the staff where we had vacancies. The transfer window has been fantastic. We’ve added a lot of quality and got in the targets we wanted. We’ve got lots of flexibility in the squad.
“It’s really nice to see everyone gel so quickly, both staff and players, and everyone has made a contribution so far which will only get better the longer we settle in. It’s been a summer of change, but pre-season has been longer than anyone would’ve wanted but that has allowed us to settle people in.”
Bristol City
Sunday’s opponents come in the shape of Bristol City, last year’s Barclays Women’s Championship winners. Although the manager agrees with the fact that his side will go into the game as favourites, caution must be taken.
While the Robins are the only side to not have featured in last season’s edition of the WSL, they do arrive back into the division after a two-year absence with plenty of momentum from their title winning campaign, but Kirk states that focus must remain on themselves.
“Starting the season off on zero points is what’s exciting to me,” he continued. “We won’t be the only one on zero points so I’m looking forward to the start.
“There’s always a nice mixture of nerves and excitement but I think the idea of playing a previous club of mine is pretty irrelevant. It’s nice for me but I won’t let it affect the game or my players.
“I do know it’s a really nice stadium and we’re happy that our first game is at a good venue, against a team that we know having played them in pre-season. But to be honest, it doesn’t matter who you play, everyone just wants to get started and hopefully accumulate points as quickly as possible.”
Improving on last season
Last season saw the Foxes clinch safety on the final day of the campaign when Ava Baker netted the only goal in a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Broadfield Stadium – this saw City become the first side to overturn a 10-point deficit in order to retain their top flight status.
Now with these events firmly behind them, the 44-year-old explained how he is excited for the restart and that his side have learned their lessons from last season in order to avoid a relegation scrap this year, and hopefully aim higher up the table.
Kirk added: “Any points in the first nine games will be progress, and we certainly hope to be in a much better position by that point this season. Every team goes out with the same objective, all 12 will want to get points on the board.
“That’s why it’s not your targets or objectives that define your season, it’s the process and performances because everyone starts with roughly the same ambitions and enthusiasm. So it’s about trying to keep that momentum for as long as possible.
“As far as we’re concerned, we know what our internal targets are for the season and we want to start heading towards them as quickly as possible, and most importantly improve on last season.”
