‘We’re making good progress’ – Whiteley sees the positives despite Liverpool’s derby loss | OneFootball

Liverpool’s interim head coach Amber Whiteley says that her side are progressing despite their 2-0 loss to Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Sunday.

Katja Snoeijs and Karen Holmgaard got the goals for the visitors as their superior derby record continued.

Speaking to the media after the match, Liverpool’s interim boss Whiteley admitted that she was disappointed with the result, although the number of chances created by her side was a positive.

“Yeah, we’re disappointed,” Whiteley said. “The first goal that we conceded has come from our own possession and our turnover. I think when you go down against Everton, they’ve got that ability to block up and defend well.

“I’m pleased with the number of chances that were created on goal, but we’ve got to be more clinical in their box.”

Liverpool impressed as the underdog in Whiteley’s early games in charge. She says that the challenge is now about learning how to capitalise when dominating possession in games.

She said “I think we had plenty of opportunities to peg Everton back. I think in that first block of games, we played opposition where we’ve not had a lot of the ball and played on transition. Now, we’ve got a different challenge, it’s with the ball and that’s something that takes time to develop. You can see we’re still working on that. We’re making good progress, but there’s still work to be done. It takes a bit of time.”

Whiteley has implemented her own playing style since being appointed interim head coach. She is pleased with the progress that she has witnessed but admits that there is more work to be done.

She said “I’m really pleased with the way that they kept going. They created some good stuff there, but we’ve just not been clinical enough. It’s still relatively new for them, what I’m asking them to do, but they are getting better, they are making progress and we can see that. It’s just always fine margins. We’ve got to make sure that we’re more clinical and we’ve got those opportunities.”

Prior to the game, Liverpool announced captain Niamh Fahey’s retirement and Whiteley admitted that it’s going to be strange not having her in the squad next season.

She said “It’s difficult to put into words exactly what Niamh means to us. She’s so well-loved and respected by everyone and she’s such an important part of our dressing room, such an important voice in there. Yeah, we’re going to miss her so much.”

Liverpool’s final Barclays Women’s Super League game of the season at Chelsea kicks-off at 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon.