Carla Ward tells Aston Villa Women: Don’t get carried away

Villa remain unbeaten after their first two matches this season, including a memorable 4-3 win over Manchester City on the opening day of the campaign.

They currently sit third in the table, but Ward wants her side to remain grounded.

“Everyone’s getting excited but I have to remind them we’re only two (league) games in,” she told the club’s Twitter account.

“The message is clear that we’ve won nothing. We’ve got off to a good start but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

When asked about West Ham, who have won one and lost one so far this season, Ward said: “I really like them. Wholehearted, front-footed, aggressive. They’re a really good side, they’ve got a lot of quality. They’ve got a lot of experienced players in that group.”

However, Ward could face having a slightly depleted squad for the game as her side look to extend their unbeaten run.

“We’ve had a bit of a bug that’s gone through the squad this week which hasn’t been ideal,” she added.

“Some will be assessed this morning and then we’ll have to make a judgement call on whether they’re going to be fit enough to make the game tomorrow.”