Spartans have set an “aggressive target” to finish off the season confirms manager Debbi McCulloch

As Spartans find themselves in the bottom half of the SWPL ahead of its restart, manager Debbi McCulloch insists the club have a set of “aggressive targets” she wants to achieve this season.

A 2-0 defeat to Hearts last game confirmed that the Edinburgh side would see out the rest of the season in the bottom half after the league split. This was a disappointment to many at the club as they originally aimed to finish in the top half. However, McCulloch is ready to take on the rest of the campaign as they aim to catch seventh-placed Motherwell.

“We know that there are 30 points up for grabs and we have set quite an aggressive target in what we want to get out of that”, McCulloch told the Edinburgh Evening News. “It is realistic and achievable in my opinion and the players have brought into that. We will give it a go and hopefully that will be enough for us to secure seventh. We know we have to get four important points to catch Motherwell, we will focus on closing that gap as best as we possibly can.

“The other scenario is that we don’t want to drive ourselves into a relegation battle. Regardless of the gap being significant, that can deplete very quickly if you are not careful and we don’t take it seriously. Top six or bottom six, it's still a league of 12 teams and anyone can beat anybody on their day. I expect it to be hugely competitive.”

Debbi McCulloch's side sits eighth in the SWPL. Credit: Spartans Women Facebook

Spartans face their first game, post-split this Sunday as they travel to Gussie Park to take on Dundee United. The Edinburgh side was victorious against the Tangerines in their last meeting, as they won 1-0.

“You have got to build on that and remember what went well for us in that game and where their strengths and weaknesses are”, McCulloch added. “Our gameplan changes on a weekly basis, not just based on the opposition but based on us and the personal we have available. We will continue to evolve and change things as we see necessary.

“The players should feel confident, it was a close game last time but we played well. Last time we were at Gussie Park, we were unfortunate to come away with a defeat. Everyone will want to put that right, but regardless of who we are playing, we are motivated because we want to perform well and we want to win.”

Unfortunately, Tegan Reynolds with not be joining the squad on the weekend after her injury last game. McCulloch fears that the midfielder will be out long-term.

‘Reynolds will have a scan on Monday”, McCulloch stated. “It’s not looking great, it’s a potential long-term knee injury. We will get that confirmed early next week, we have just had to wait a wee bit for the swelling to go down and for her mobility to improve. Louise Mason is back in training this week so no issues there. Dion [McMahon] is back on the pitch as well. They weren’t serious injuries, more precautionary substitutions last week because we didn’t want them to become serious. Apart from Reynolds and Simone [McMahon] who is still recovering from a fractured ankle, we are in an ok place.”