Bristol City Women expecting 'real challenge' vs Portsmouth, says Steve Kirby (2025)

Bristol City Women travel to the South Coast to face Portsmouth in their penultimate away game of the season

Bristol City head coach Steve Kirby insists his side still have plenty to play for in their final games of the season with the Reds having a "responsibility" to perform, regardless of whether or not promotion remains a possibility.

The Robins travel to the South Coast this weekend to take on 10th-placed Portsmouth in their penultimate away game of the season as they look to extend their three-game unbeaten run.

Pompey, however, are desperate for points. The home side sit just three points above Sheffield United who occupy the singular relegation spot and are aiming to retain their place in the Women’s Championship after earning promotion to the second-tier last season.

But in Kirby’s eyes, the Reds have just as much to play for, even with promotion now out of reach, with contracts, international recognition and pride still on the line in these final few fixtures.

“One of the things I've always said throughout my time here is that I want our team to be exciting, I want our team to be effective, and I want the people who come to watch us to enjoy coming to watch us," explained the City boss. "That doesn't change whether promotion is possible or not.

“[We] as staff and [we] as players are super professional as a group, so there's that competitive nature of we like winning and we don't like losing. So, first and foremost, regardless of where anybody's going to play next season, we want to win because we love winning. That's definitely the mindset of the group.

“Then individually, some [players] are playing for places next season. For some, their performances throughout the last three games will have them in a shop window if they end up not being at the club for whatever reason and some are going on to represent their countries in their respective senior or youth international tournaments, so their performances need to maintain at a high level.

"Also, we have a responsibility to ourselves, and we have a responsibility to the fans who pay their hard-earned money to come and watch us. We have to make sure that we're doing things right for them because that's what they will expect of us.”

Despite coming into this weekend off the back of a 6-0 defeat to Durham, Portsmouth have seen a real upturn in form in recent games. The home side have claimed seven points from their last five matches, even managing to pick up their first two wins of the season back in March.

While Kirby is clear about what he expects to see from his side, he is adamant that he is not anticipating an easy game against the Hampshire side.

“We’re expecting a real challenge,” he admitted, “They've had a little bit of a resurgence over the past five games and some of the results that they’ve picked up have been excellent for them. They've had a couple of heavy defeats in that as well, but they will be confident.

“They're off the foot at the table and I've been in that position before - that moment can bring real hope and a real belief that you can do what needs to be done to save your season. So, I'm sure that they will be in that mindset and I'm sure that's the message that they'll be getting from the staff.

“They've got good players, they've got threats, especially in wide areas and they get lots of crossing opportunities in games. So we'll be ready for their threats, and we'll give them the ultimate respect of trying to be at our best.”