Blues boss David Parker sets new season targets in WSL

They may have been fairly quiet on the transfer front compared to other clubs but manager David Parker has every faith his battling Birmingham City Ladies squad can deliver the goods next season.

So far this winter, they have brought in just two new players ahead of the start of the 2014 Women’s Super League.

Wales international striker Hannah Keryakoplis, who finished as top scorer for Liverpool Ladies in 2012, joined in the new year from Stoke while midfielder Remi Allen completed her switch from Lincoln Ladies before Christmas.

Last season, Blues had one of the youngest sides in the league yet still managed to finish fourth in The FA Women’s Super League.

And Parker has backed his side to have a similar impact this time around, despite acknowledging the competition will be even harder.

“We are a club with a very small budget and we have to work within our means, we cannot compete with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea pound for pound,” said Parker. “We have to be clever, it is not always about big name marquee signings.

“It is about replacing quality with quality, we will be competitive on the pitch next season.

“We have to offer something different, and our approach and aims for the club is one of them.

“We have a group of players who want to play for the club, battle for each other and do it for the right reasons. But we always back ourselves.

“There has been a lot of movement in the market and I think the changes will take the league to the next level.

“But we have to be careful, not just as a club but as a league. We don’t want to be flushing money in carelessly, we need to be responsible about the way the league goes about things.”

Parker is targeting further success in the cup competitions having reached the quarter-finals of The FA Cup, while their history-making run in the Women’s Champions League sees them play Arsenal in the quarter finals in March.

Parker is aiming for cup success this season

And with their domestic rivals waiting for them, Parker knows Birmingham have an early chance to move a step closer to lifting some silverware.

“We want to improve every year, we struggled a bit last year in the league but the Champions League progress was however good,” he added.

“We want to improve in the cup competitions, we will just have to wait and see what happens with the other teams in the league.

“The Champions League match with Arsenal will be fantastic, it takes place in the early part of the season and it’s a very prestigious competition.”