Andy Spence : Everton Ladies opener is tough

Everton Ladies face a tricky opening fixture to kick off their Womens’ Super League campaign, according to manager Andy Spence.

The Blues must travel to Aston Villa in midweek and Spence has seen enough of the Villans to know that it will be a tough initial test as his side look to mount a promotion push from the off.

Speaking after the Ladies’ fixture list was released on Monday afternoon, he said: “When the games are announced, you are always excited and you can certainly begin to start planning properly.

“We start with, for me, one of the toughest away games you could have. Aston Villa are a really good side who, similar to ourselves, have a good bunch of young players with one or two more experienced heads.

“In terms of their finish last season, they had a decent campaign and ended it strongly. I am sure they will be looking to build on that.

“After that we have the likes of Millwall Lionesses and London Bees, then Doncaster as well. So there are some really exciting fixtures for us to look forward to.”

And Spence has called on Evertonians to come and back his players as they bid to return to WSL1 at the first time of asking – whether they are regular attendees to Ladies games or have never watched them before.

“The club really want the fans to come and support the girls this season,” he added. “It is a huge year for us. Following our relegation we want to respond at the first opportunity. The fans are always great to us and I know there are a number of incentives to come and watch the Ladies team.

“It’s a cheap way to watch football but you are getting a good product. In terms of value for money it’s hard to rival.

“We are excited with the talent that we have on show and for fans to come and watch us. We have five or six England Under-19 internationals, a number of Under-23s as well, and so we have a real core of young players, with most having come through our Centre of Excellence. So we want people to come and see them and say that these are players who have Everton right the way through them.

“We want people to take up the great offers that will be available because we want to make this a really exciting season – and ultimately a really successful one.”

Adult Ladies Season Tickets for the 2015 campaign are now on sale for just £30 - concessions are priced at £15. For more information, including pricing and how to buy, click here.