If Aston Villa can begin the 2015 season half as well as they ended last year, they will be right on track for an FA WSL 1 promotion push, according to Sherry McCue.
Villa rounded off the previous campaign with five wins from their last six matches to finish fourth in the WSL 2 table.
And while Doncaster Rovers Belles, Reading and relegated Everton will start as many people's favourites for promotion this time around, midfielder McCue believes Villa also deserve to be in the conversation.
McCue's England factfile
DOB: 16/09/1994
England U23s: 4 caps
England U20s: 3 caps
England U19s: 17 caps, 1 goal
England U17s: 8 caps
Though the 20-year-old acknowledges it will not be easy to get themselves in the mix, she is convinced the ever-improving Villa squad have the talent to do so.
McCue said: “It was great to end last season so strongly and we’ll be looking to start off the year in the same way.
“We would like to finish in at least the top three, but we will be pushing for promotion. That’s what we’re aiming to do and you’ve got to aim high, haven’t you?
“I think we’ve got a well-balanced team. Our manager Joe Hunt has brought in loads of young players and it’s a really young squad.
“So the more we play together, the stronger we will get. Of course you want to improve in every area but, as a whole, we’ve got a strong squad which means we should have a good season."
She continued: “I think if we keep pushing and training hard, then getting promotion to WSL 1 and then pushing up the WSL 1 table is within reach for us with the squad we’ve got.”
If they are to stake a claim as genuine promotion contenders, the Lady Villans must avoid a repeat of last season’s dismal start when it took them eight attempts to notch a first victory.
McCue insists the team have learned from that experience and are primed to come flying out of the blocks in this time around.
It promises to be an exciting year for the sport with the seventh FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place in Canada in June.
And with the eyes of the world set to be on women’s football, McCue sees an opportunity to promote and expand the game.
McCue captained England at last year’s FIFA Women’s U20 World Cup - also in Canada - and she acknowledges the importance of this summer’s showpiece event.
She added: “A World Cup year is obviously a big year for the women’s game and it will get the game growing. So it will sit nicely in our minds.
“Every player has got to be playing well to get international recognition, so I know what I’ve got to do which is keep working hard and hopefully my time will come.”
Aston Villa will get their campaign under way with an FA Women’s Cup Third Round tie against Sunderland on Sunday 1 February.
Fixtures for the new FA WSL season will be announced week commencing 26 January, with matches set to start in March.
