Pompey Ladies have no reason to fear being involved in a relegation battle this season, according to their skipper.
Kirsty McGee, the club’s long-serving captain, has seen enough of the FA Women’s Premier League national division to know the Blues can handle the step up in standard after last season’s promotion.
While they are currently just one place and one point above the relegation zone after a patchy first half of the season, McGee is confident they will soon pull away from trouble.
And she believes Pompey Ladies will find their missing consistency in the second half of the campaign as they approach the midway point.
She said: ‘I think we are definitely in a false position in the league.
‘I’m not saying we should be top but we shouldn’t be near the bottom, either.
‘So I’m not even thinking about relegation. The performances we have put in so far are not from a team that should be struggling.
‘We’ve just been a bit unfortunate.
‘In a few of the games so far, we haven’t quite seen out the result as we should have done.
‘We’ve taken the lead in games and then let it slip. A few silly mistakes have cost us.
‘Confidence in the side lacks a little when you don’t pick up the results. But I am positive that we will start picking up points.
‘Worrying about relegation is not even an issue for me.’
While it was anticipated Pompey Ladies would take time to adapt to the national division, McGee insists that the improvement in standard can be bridged easily.
She said: ‘Personally, I thought the standard would be a lot higher than what it is.
‘It’s not like we can’t compete at this standard of football. We’ve got good enough players to be able to deal with it.
‘But at the higher level, maybe the big difference is that when you make a mistake, they tend to get punished a bit more often.
‘In the league we were in last season, we were always up there near the top.
‘I think there would be a couple of teams that could go up and compete in the national division.
‘So it hasn’t been too bad for us. I think we’ve had a good start and we’ve just been a little bit inconsistent so far.’
Vanessa Raynbird’s side were due to face leaders Sunderland on Sunday but the match has been rescheduled, with the Blues instead in Hampshire Cup action.
They will now host QK Southampton FC at Moneyfields’ Dover Road (2pm).
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