Sunderland Women return to Championship action this weekend

Mel Reay has challenged her Sunderland players to finish the season with maximum points and build on their promising performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup.

The Black Cats were beaten 3-1 in the quarter final last weekend but produced a strong performance against the WSL giants. Sunderland return to league action away at Portsmouth this weekend and while a gap of eight points to the top of the league looks likely to be too many to bridge, Reay says its important her team finish the campaign strong.

"I was really pleased with the way we stayed in the game," Reay said.

"When you look back, it sounds pedantic but the first goal is a throw-in that should be given to us. Yes we have to defend it better, of course we do, and then the second goal there's a foul on Meg Beer that isn't given. It's ifs, buts and maybes but they're big decisions. We learn from it, we've taken a hell of a lot from the game. We've pitched ourselves against the best in the game and taken something from it.

"We parked everything on the Tuesday," Reay added.

"We came in, reflected, watched some of the clips back... but the game had a different feel and we've now go to focus our minds back on the remaining five games. The competition in the squad means that it would dangerous for any player to switch off. They know that they have to produce in training and take in the information, apply themselves properly so they know they're ready to take the shirt on the weekend.

"We want to use it as a catalyst for the weekend. It was great for the players to come up against some world-class players, see how they play the game. It was noticeably quicker for them, that was the instant feedback. The pace of the game, how well they move it and deal with under pressure. We'll use that this week and moving forward in terms of how we want to be as a team and how we want to use the ball better.

"I was looking at the Championship fixtures the other day and there's a lot of really good fixtures coming up. A lot of the teams up there are playing each other so there's going to be a few twists and turns before the end of the season. So for us, we've just to go and try and win the game. That's the challenge to the players: We've got five games so can we go and take maximum points? Then where we finish is where we finish."

Mel Reay's Sunderland injury update ahead of Portsmouth trip

Reay confirmed that Mary McAteer would miss the game as he continues to observe concussion protocols, but the forward will be able to face Newcastle United next weekend.

Louise Griffiths could be in contention to start after scoring on her return to the squad last weekend.

"Louise had only played her first game in a PGA game the previous Wednesday," Reay said.

"I don't think she was expecting to play as much as what she did but Meg Beer picked up an ankle injury. She'd just come off the back of a nightshift and literally been to sleep for two hours. So she put in an unbelievable shift as well, between the two of them they operated that right-hand side really well."