Read the key points from Willie Kirk's pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday's WSL clash with Birmingham City (7pm) below...

Kirk on Blues' motivation ahead of Thursday’s clash at St George's Park…

While Birmingham did really well in our 1-1 draw at Walton Hall Park last month, we were disappointed with our performance.

The players are still frustrated by it and that will be their motivator going into the game.

We feel those were points dropped and we could have been in a more favourable position in the league, on the coattails of Arsenal in fourth place, if we hadn’t dropped those points.

The players have got some wrongs to right and they are very motivated to do so.

On positives from Sunday’s narrow defeat to title-chasing Manchester City…

The squad has taken a lot of confidence from the game and how we matched Man City for long periods.

The players were very disciplined, they kept up their communication on the pitch and you could see Man City getting frustrated.

It was the first time we have had less of the ball than the opposition this calendar year. We expect to have more of the ball on Thursday and dictate the tempo of the game more.

We need to do a professional job. Birmingham are still down at the bottom end of the table and in that dogfight down there.

They will know they still have points to accumulate before they’re safe. We need to make sure they don’t get any against us.

On whether Dan Turner and Ingrid Moe Wold will be fit after sustaining injuries on Sunday…

Dan has had a couple of problems with her calf, it seems to be quite a unique problem she has – sometimes she gets this cramping sensation. It’s not regular thing. We’ll continue to work with the specialists to see if we can get to the bottom of it.

Dan will probably start on the bench on Thursday to give her a that little bit of extra rest, but that gives an opportunity to Poppy Pattinson, who did very well when she came on against Man City on Sunday. She will deserve her start.

Ingrid Moe Wold will definitely miss the Birmingham game. We have had her scanned and will have more x-rays today. Again, that’s an opportunity for someone else.

On Gabby George’s fitness after making her first start for more than a year against City…

She has not had any adverse reaction. It would probably be sensible for me to leave her out of the starting line-up tomorrow, but that’s not guaranteed and there’s a chance we’ll see her on the pitch at some point.

We’ll see where she is for the rest of the season. Gabby coming back has been a huge boost for us. Her performance on Sunday was magnificent given she was out for so long.

She will be important for us for the rest of the campaign and building up towards next season.

On team captain Lucy Graham’s new two-year contract….

It’s great. As soon as I joined the Club, I wanted to bring her here.

It was the right time to extend her deal. We’ve been speaking about it for a few months so it’s really just getting the final details sorted and getting it announced.

It’s a huge boost for us and for Lucy. She has had less game-time recently, which has been a real mental challenge for her.

It’s a challenge from me to her to make sure she keeps improving. Having worked with her before, I know Lucy operates best when she is under pressure.

Bringing in people like Jill Scott has meant she has been kept on her toes and that game-time has been more difficult to get – but she is working even harder on the training pitch and she is looking at areas where she can improve her game. She will benefit from that in the long run.