Sunday’s 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic proved to be a valuable game for a number of reasons.

Not only did it allow us to re-integrate Louise Quinn, Emma Mitchell and Katrine Veje, but it was also an opportunity for our stars to maintain momentum ahead of our Women’s Super League clash with Manchester City.

We spoke to Joe Montemurro after the final whistle - and this is what he said:

on the performance…

We had to put it as part of the build-up for next week’s game against Manchester City, so giving players minutes and getting game rhythm was the most important thing. We had ups and downs today, but all in all, a clean and comfortable win.

on the balance of resting players and keeping them sharp…

We need everyone ready for any moment and any situation. The good thing about it is that everyone wanted to be involved today. None of them wanted to get some rest. Everyone wanted to play and we got minutes into a lot of players today, so it was really beneficial from that side of things.

on having seven days to prepare for Manchester City…

Yeah, it’s strange for us! We’ve got a normal week to prepare and that’s very important. It’s all part of the build up for a very crucial game for us.

on the motivation to get a big win against City…

We need to make sure that we maintain status with the teams that we should be beating, but also make sure we’re getting points against the teams who will be up at the top of the table come the end of the season.

on no youngsters being involved today…

Yeah, they had commitments with other games, so we’re trying to balance things out. But today was a very valuable game for us because it helped us to give minutes to the players that need it. We decided to lean on that so that we can get the squad ready for City. We also have more players than we did last season, so that’s another factor to consider.

on Miedema leaving the pitch limping…

Yeah, she got a little kick to the calf. We’ll treat it straight away and she should be fine for next week.