West Ham Women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner looked ahead to Sunday’s meeting with Aston Villa which will be the Hammers last WSL match of 2024.

West Ham have been in good form of late with four wins from their last five matches in all competitions. The Hammers currently sit one place and two points ahead of Villa in the WSL table.

A win against Villa would be huge for Rehanne Skinner’s side, it would not only see them continue their good form and take some great momentum into the new year, it would give them a great chance of breaking into the top half of the WSL table.

Here are some snippets of what Rehanne Skinner said to the media earlier this week:

We’re going in a positive direction:

RS: “You can see the influence the new signings are having and the balance in the squad is better. And seniority as well, there are more experienced players in the team. The direction we’re going in is really positive across the board, but there’s always things you want to tweak though.”

Discussing Villa game:

RS: “You have to make sure you’re defensively really organised (when playing Aston Villa). They’re capable of scoring goals. It’s about being organised and sticking to the gameplan, but having that creativity and confidence that we’ve got going forward.

We want to go into Christmas full of momentum:

RS: “We want to be in that position (with momentum before the Christmas break). The way the players are motivated towards doing that is excellent, and this week everyone has been really switched on.”

It certainly seems as though the Hammers are focused and ready to end 2024 on a high. West Ham have only lost two of their ten matches against Aston Villa. A very good record against Sunday’s opponents, combined with their excellent recent form can give Rehanne Skinner’s side great confidence of securing all three points.

If West Ham can pick up a win against Villa and this does propel them into the top half of the WSL, they can go into the winter break with their heads held high knowing that when they return to action they have an excellent foundation to build from in order to make the remainder of their league campaign a success.