Sussex

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Evan Ferguson (20 years and 26 days old) has now scored four goals for Republic of Ireland, with only Robbie Keane (seven goals) and David Connolly (six goals) scoring more for the Boys in Green before the age of 21.

With only four points separating third and 13th, we do not normally see that many teams in this type of mini league.

Normally, you might have the teams in a pack around the top four or five and then another pack underneath that with your relegation pack as well, so the fact there is so many teams in it at this stage is making it different.

From the mental side of competing in that, you look at Manchester United who have struggled so much this season and are sitting 13th. If they get a win, it can shoot them right up the table. They are in a position to think they are only a few points off the Champions League places' and that is good.

But it can work both ways.

Knowing the points are so close can keep you strong, keep you competing and have that competitiveness because you know a result can jump you up. But on the flipside, you could easily go from seventh down to 13th in one weekend or from third down to 10th.

How you deal with it depends on the manager, the players and also the psychologists within the group. Psychology in sport is really important for whether you see the situation as a positive or a negative.

Whether it stays like this all season is hard to say as there have been some really inconsistent performances and results. The most consistent team is the one sitting at the top.

I do not know what the rest of the campaign has in store for these sides because all the teams seem to be able to take points off each other this season.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Ellie Thomason
BBC Sport senior journalist

Brighton boss Dario Vidosic said Brighton won't be "doom and gloom" after their 5-0 defeat by Arsenal and is backing his team to bounce back against West Ham on Saturday (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

Albion conceded more goals against the Gunners on Friday than in the rest of their Women's Super League games combined this season, but Vidosic is confident he can get a response from his players.

"It’s a good lesson," he said. "We are still happy, we are still third so we can’t get too down on ourselves.

"We can’t take Friday night and be doom and gloom. There were positives and stuff we can easily fix that we just got a little bit wrong.

"There is always work to be done. It’s never perfect. We always chase perfection but the beauty of that is you will never catch it. We want to improve all the time.

"There are speed bumps. The best teams in the world will have an off day. These things happen in football."

Here are more key lines from his news conference:

• Vidosic said being in the WSL's top three brings "a different pressure" but "that pressure is a privilege".

• He said "experience is the best teacher" and after Friday's defeat "we want a big response and we look forward to the challenge of West Ham".

• On another game at the Amex Stadium, he added: "We want to be on the big stages. We encourage all our fans to come out and support us."

• Maria Thorisdottir will miss out with a calf issue while the club are waiting on scan results from Aisha Masaka.

• Pauline Bremer and Jelena Cankovic are both back in the squad after returning from injury.

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Brighton defender Poppy Pattinson says her side will not dwell on their heavy defeat by Arsenal last week when they face West Ham in the Women's Super League on Saturday (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

The high-flying Seagulls went into the match with the Gunners in fine form with four wins from their opening six league games, but they lost 5-0 with just one shot on target.

"Last week was disappointing and we have worked hard this week to put it right," said the left-back.

"It’s a mental game as well as a physical one. We can’t dwell on the last one too much and we know what we can put right.

"We take the belief from the start of the season into this one [against West Ham]."

Despite last week's loss, Dario Vidosic's side are still third in the table, one point ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United.

"It’s a great feeling to be where we are right now sitting in the position we are," she said.

"I’m not someone that just settles. We want to keep getting better. We started the season very well, we set high expectations for ourselves."

This weekend's match is being played at the club's main ground, the Amex Stadium, and Pattinson says the team "love" playing there.

"It’s a great stadium and hopefully we can get a win there for our fans," she added.

"A game is a game, atmosphere can be brought anywhere, but these are the games we want to play in. We just want to put on a show."