'People didn't realise the actual situation' - Gareth Taylor leads Man City Women out of a storm and into Continental Cup final vs Chelsea

05.03.2022 - 12:35 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Manchester City Women always believed they would turn their awful start to the season around, but the manner of their improvement has seen them silence the doubters, climb back up the Women's Super League table, and reach a Continental Cup final against Chelsea this weekend.

"It’s a real testament to us and how we’ve stuck to our principles and worked our way out of a storm," Gareth Taylor declared ahead of City's cup final against tormentors Chelsea.

"The storm was massive injuries. We’re still not completely out of the woods, still missing a few key players but things have been really healthy in the last couple of months in terms of the way we play, we’ve applied ourselves and the performances we’ve put in."

ALSO READ: Man City boss questions 'strange' Continental Cup final venue choice for Chelsea Women fixture

At one point, City had dropped 14 points from their first seven WSL games, as well as crashing out of the Champions League before the group stage. Taylor was under pressure for his job, while City's title challenge was over before it began.

The injuries Taylor refers to were a key factor in the calamitous start, although the players who stepped in hardly showed they were good enough to be first choice when the injured contingent returned, with a side low in confidence struggling to do the basics right.

After 13 players returned late after playing at the Olympics over the summer, City were without a different combination of 14 players at the worst points of the season. Key players Ellie Roebuck, Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze and Chloe Kelly had long-term absences while, stand-in right-back Esme Morgan suffered a horror injury early on and remains out.

Forwards Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie were among those to