Gavin Levey believes Aberdeen Women should be looking up the table and not down as the SWPL 1 nears the split.
This season the Scottish top-flight will split into a top and bottom six after two rounds of fixtures, with Aberdeen currently sitting 10th with four games to go.
If the Dons were to make the top six, it would be an extremely difficult task, as they would have to win all of their remaining games – against Glasgow City, Hibs, Partick Thistle and Motherwell – which would equal their total victories so far in the campaign.
The Aberdeen interim coach admits top six is “probably” now out of reach, but has urged his side to look up the table and not down.
The Dons are one point clear of Hamilton Accies who sit in the relegation play-off spot.
Levey said: “We roughly know where we will be – we’re probably going to be in the lower half of the table.
“I don’t think any of us are sitting here saying we need to win the next four games to make the top six. We have to be realistic.
“We do have to make sure we stay in this league, and while that’s our number one priority, we all know we can do a lot better than surviving relegation.
“We’ve come out of that tough run where we played all the top teams in quick succession, but we’ve still got some difficult games. After City, we have Hibs, Partick Thistle and Motherwell who are all vying for a place in the top six.
“It’s going to be hard but we do want to close the gap, and we’re looking forward to going on a good run between now and the end of the season because there’s still a lot of games to be played.
“We know our results have to be better than Hamilton and Glasgow Women – that’s first and foremost – but I believe we’re capable of climbing further up the table.
“The split alone is 30 points to play for, so now we’ve got some stability in the team we’re going to get our heads down, set some targets and achieve them.”
Aberdeen will make Glasgow City clash more of a test
When Aberdeen host Glasgow City on Sunday, it’ll be their first game in a fortnight – having last played against City in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
When the two sides last met, the Dons were in the midst of a tough run having played five times in 15 days, with four of those games in Glasgow and three against the league’s full-time professional sides.
In the Scottish Cup defeat, the Dons were only 1-0 down at the break before City netted four second half goals, so Levey knows the threats the Glasgow outfit will bring north.
👊 Back at this week.
We take on Glasgow City this Sunday at the Balmoral Stadium. Kick-off is 4pm. pic.twitter.com/eITkPBQ5KA
— Aberdeen FC Women (@AberdeenWomen) February 20, 2023
He said: “We know what we’re up against but this time we’re coming into it having had some rest and recovery and a full week of training, so we’ll make it more of a test.
“We’ll certainly be up for it. It helps that we’re at home – that’s a big advantage for us.
“Leanne Ross has done a really good job at Glasgow City since she’s been the interim manager. Staying top of this league is not an easy thing to do, but they’ve invested further in their squad because they want that European spot.
“We know they’ll be coming up here wanting to make a statement, but we just have to make sure that we make it as hard as possible for them.”
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