Under the guidance of Denise Reddy and Paul Green, Chelsea embark on a busy run of fixtures across domestic and European competition in the coming weeks, starting with the trip to Merseyside against Everton who have enjoyed a bright start to life under new manager Brian Sorensen.

With the international break done and dusted, our players returned to Cobham on Friday where they trained ahead of the journey north this weekend. Among those present was captain Eriksson, who enjoyed plenty of minutes for her native Sweden ahead of domestic duties resuming.

‘We had two tough games, we played Spain and France. The first game against Spain was really tough. We drew luckily, I would say, and then the second game was amazing! We played at home and won 3-0 against a good France side in front of 15,000 fans, so that was a really cool experience. I got to play two 90-minute games and I’m really happy with that.’

A number of the Blues squad represented their countries over the past fortnight, but the mood was good as attention swiftly turned towards the challenges that come with a busy club fixture schedule, something Eriksson is confident the squad are well-equipped to handle.

‘It feels good. I feel like after pre-season and after the first games now we’re in the rhythm, now we’re in the flow and I like that. I like to play a lot of games back-to-back because then I feel like I’m ready and I’m sharp.

‘We’re so ready for this block of games. We know it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be very draining on us but that’s why we have this big, amazing squad and support staff around us. We’re built to handle these situations.’

A quick turnaround between the players returning, training and then playing does not concern the skipper who believes the strength in depth, character and experience within the squad will be key to refocusing on the task ahead.

‘We have a lot of players available. I think everyone has shown that we are ready to switch on to Chelsea mode now. We’ve just come back from all over the place, but we were really focused in training and that’s good to see. We’re quite experienced now with these moments.

‘We know it’s going to be a difficult game because we’ve all been away, so now we really have to switch on to the Chelsea tactics and the Chelsea way of playing. From training it was really good, I’m not worried.’

In the absence of Hayes, Eriksson will continue to lead by example and the defender is adamant that confidence, maturity and taking responsibility will be vital for the Blues in navigating our way through the coming weeks.

‘I feel very confident about it because I feel like we have such a mature squad. We have mature players and really good support staff around the team. We have Denise who has been here now for a long time and worked closely with Emma. So far, it feels like nothing is going to change and I’m not going to change either.

‘I’ll keep a close eye on it and I’ll be on my toes if I feel like anything needs to be done. That is my role as captain. It’s to be on it all the time and not let anything slip or any kind of standards go down. I can’t see that happening with the players we have in this squad.

‘I think there are so many good players who take responsibility, who are experienced and know what it takes to win football games. Of course, we are going to miss Emma a lot and we wish her all the best in her recovery, but I’m hoping we can pull through without her.’

On the topic of the opposition, our captain expects nothing other than a tough encounter on Sunday, recognising the change in management at Everton and the positive start they have made to the season, but Eriksson is relishing the challenge.

‘They definitely look a lot stronger this season. They have a good structure and a good new coach who has done some really good work with them, so it’s going to be a really tough game. As I mentioned before, these games after the international break are tough because you don’t have a lot of time to prepare for them.

‘It’s going to be a really tough game, a tough opponent, but we’re looking forward to it.’