Both Sunderland and Birmingham City have the qualities to challenge for promotion again this season after finding themselves in the mix last term, however, defender Westrup believes that the title race can never be mapped out given the unpredictability of the Barclays Women’s Championship.
“The biggest thing about this league is that you can never really call it,” Westrup said. “That’s a wonderful thing for the neutral fan I’m sure.
“Keeping the core of our team is probably the most important thing because you don’t have to re-integrate eight or nine new players into your style of play. Having a handful of new players will hopefully enhance our team and put us in good stead.
“Palace have gone up and Bristol have come down; the last time Bristol were in the league, I thought they were head and shoulders above everyone other than maybe London City. We haven’t seen them for a year, so we don’t know how they’re going to be, similarly with Portsmouth and Newcastle coming up, you don’t know how they’re going to cope with the jump from Tier 3 to Tier 2.
“You have to take it a game at a time. If you get too far ahead of yourselves, you could find yourselves out of the race well before the end of the season.”
Westrup is going into this weekend’s fixture at Birmingham City with an open mind. She doesn’t know exactly what to expect from the Blues but she’s prepared for a different challenge to what Sunderland faced last season.
She said “The first game of the season is always a tricky one because nobody has form yet.
“Birmingham have made quite a few big signings in the summer, so they could play completely different this year than they did last season. It’s about taking things with a pinch of salt and looking at the personnel that they have, what their assets are.
“As you go through the season, you can see a bit more of teams’ style of play and you can identify them a bit more as opposed to the individual.
“We just have to take it a game at a time early on. We have two really good opponents in Birmingham and Southampton. There has also been a lot of movement with coaches and players, so I don’t think you could possibly say how each team is going to be.
“It’s going to be exciting. There’s going to be a lot of twists and turns for everyone.”
Sunderland’s most highly-anticipated fixture this season will be the Tyne-Wear derby against neighbours Newcastle United. Westrup believes that the fixture could provide a real boost to the women’s game in the North East.
She said “I think it will massively [grow local interest]. Whether you support the men’s side or women’s side, as a supporter of either club, you’re going to want to be at that game because it’s the rivalry.
