Birmingham City manager Carla Ward has revealed her players feared the club would fold at the start of the season.

After eight players left the WSL club over the summer there were only eight seniors left leaving a lot of pessimism around the club.

Ward told BBC Sport: "A lot of them thought the team was going to fold this season. That was the reality.

"I asked them on day two to send me their expectations for where they believed we would finish as a squad. A couple of them said bottom. It wasn't a good place to be when I first came in, that's for sure."

Since then Ward has been named WSL coach of the month for October and City are currently in seventh place in the table, with Ward believing they won’t be ‘underdogs’ for much longer.

"Confidence and belief is high but we have to be careful. We have liked the underdog status but if we carry on doing what we are doing, we won't be the underdogs for much longer.

“The girls are thriving on the fact that nobody gives us a chance and I certainly am. The players are just enjoying themselves and playing with a smile on their face - that's half the battle.”