'Play without fear'

Reading Ladies v Blackburn Rovers Ladies
The FA Women's Premier League Cup
Quarter Final
2pm, Sunday 1 April 2012

Blackburn Rovers Ladies manager Scott Rogers has urged his side to play without fear when they visit top-flight Reading in the WPL League Cup quarter final on Sunday.

Rogers had only been in charge for a matter of weeks when Blackburn were relegated from the Women's Premier League at the end of last season.

But now, almost a year after he swapped the reserves for the first-team, Rogers has big plans for Blackburn, starting with the "restructuring" job he has undertaken this season.

That has meant a drop in the average age of the squad, but Rogers reckons his young side have relished their new challenge.

WPL side Reading are next, with a League Cup Semi-Final against Portsmouth next for the winners. And ahead of the clash on Sunday, Rogers told TheFA.com: "They're in the league above and are a lot more experienced than us so we are definitely the underdogs for this one.

"But they're expected to win and so the pressure is on them. We can go there and enjoy our football which we will thrive on."

Already into his 12th year as a football coach, 26-year-old Rogers already boasts a wealth of experience in the women's game.

And when former manager Adam Lakeland departed last April, he was the obvious choice to replace him after success with the Reserves.

He added: "When I was offered temporary charge of Adam's job, I obviously snapped their hand off. It was unfortunate I didn't have enough games to keep them in the Premier League last year.

"We've changed the side a lot since - now it's a lot younger. I've got a very talented bunch of girls but they are a lot younger so they see this as a massive challenge. It's a great opportunity to go there and play without fear.

"It's the fear factor, as in we've had no fear this season. We've been underdogs so we've been allowed to play and express ourselves without that pressure to win the game. With the younger players that does sometimes help.

"It's a tough game at the weekend and we'll have a very good Reading team in front of us. Again we've got to step up to that level and rise to the challenge."