Sunderland may be closing in on promotion from FA Women’s Super League 2 but Rebekah Bass insists they cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
The Black Cats are top of the table, five points clear of second-place Doncaster Rovers Belles with just five games to go.
They have yet to taste defeat in the league this season and look set to clinch the solitary promotion berth up to FA WSL 1.
Sunderland v Watford
FA WSL 2
1pm, Sunday 14 September 2014
Hetton Centre
But with Watford up next at the Hetton Centre, winger Bass insists they must keep their feet on the ground.
“We have all said we will go out and play our own way and try to not think too much about the title,” said Bass, who has scored one league goal so far this term.
“We are almost trying to keep our heads down and aim to go into every game as if it is the first game of the season.”
Watford have lost their last five games but Bass – who remembers how close the Hornets took Sunderland in May – is taking nothing for granted.
“We played Watford away earlier in the season and were 2-0 down at half-time,” she added. “In the changing room at the break we all said how we needed to buck our ideas up.
“We went out for the second half and turned the game around to win 4-2 but we were still not happy with ourselves.
“We said to each other that we cannot let ourselves be losing for us to start playing well. So we know Watford will be a hard game and, like every club, they have got their own good players who can cause us problems.
“They have a good manager and a strong coaching staff behind them so are always a tough team to face.”
Watford boss John Salomon also recalls that 4-2 defeat at Berkhamsted and has vowed to give the hosts another scare.
“I still remember that game well and what it took to get that result at half-time,” said Salomon.
“We had to dig in and really pull together just to go toe-to-toe with a team like Sunderland.
"They are at a point where they will be pushing to get into WSL 1 but if we perform well as a team we know we can challenge them and we will make sure we are prepared.”
