Lauren Smith: Bristol City boss hopes lack of pressure will pay off
Last updated on .From the section Women's Football
Bristol City manager Lauren Smith says everybody has her bottom-of-the-table side "already beaten" by Manchester United going into their game on Sunday.
The Robins are six points from safety in the Women's Super League.
They lost 7-3 to Brighton in their last outing and have won just once in 15 games this season.
"We're already on the underdog side of things, what else can happen that's worse than that?" Smith told BBC Radio Bristol.
"It's probably part of the frustration of the last few games, they were the teams in and around us, that we've not been able to close that gap.
"The teams that are in the top five that we're coming up against, realistically, we're already beaten by them by everybody else.
"Removing the pressure of must-win games will hopefully give us another confidence to be able to go into games not all-out expecting that this is a game that must be a win."
As well as the heavy defeat by Brighton, Bristol City have lost 5-2 to Leicester and 2-1 to West Ham in their last four games, and face a battle to salvage their top-flight status with seven games remaining.
They travel to fourth-placed Manchester United - who are fighting to secure a top-three spot and a place in Europe next season - before meeting the rest of the top six, with Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea to come.
Yet Smith insisted the pressure is now on those sides to win.
"We have to be the team that everyone beats, and that's been the case for the whole season. Nobody wants to lose any points to us because that doesn't look good on them," Smith said.
"Ultimately our game is making sure that we're defensively solid and that has to be the start. We've been working on it, we're talking about it a lot, it's still the case."
'Key elements of squad missing'
Bristol City's young side were already classed as league underdogs after winning promotion to the top tier last season, but have found their cause hampered further by what Smith called an "injury crisis".
Defenders Naomi Layzell, Satara Murray, midfielder Rachel Furness and striker Abi Harrison have all been out in recent weeks.
"There are some key elements of our squad that we haven't seen, that doesn't allow the big change-up that perhaps at times we could look to," Smith said.
"The players have to be all-in in everything we do, and I believe that they are. That's not something I'm worried about. We are a young squad and we are still learning, and it's late in the season and unfortunately we're still learning."
