The 23-year-old became a Blue last summer after joining from Aston Villa. Patience was required before she was given the chance to impress and when those opportunities came, Hampton grasped them with both hands.

She has started four of our six matches since the turn of the year, keeping back-to-back clean sheets in our previous two league matches, but the newest addition to our goalkeepers’ union is determined to continue learning and improving.

Due to our European commitments, we enter the League Cup at the quarter-final stage against Sunderland on Wednesday. Both sides are just two games away from the final and although the prospect of silverware is enticing, Hampton expects a stern test from our opponents and says they will come out fighting.

‘That’s something that excites me because I’ve not won silverware at club level in my career. I’ve no doubt that we can go on and do that, but we’ve got to make sure we get the job done against Sunderland tonight.

‘They’ll put up a good fight, I’ve played them before with Villa and the Blues (Birmingham), and they always did that. I’m excited for it.’

Sunderland are enjoying a fine season in the Barclays Women’s Championship, occupying second place and just two points adrift of top spot. It’s a classic cup tie and Hampton knows we must be on top of our game if we are to progress to the semi-finals.

‘They’re going to want to cause an upset, to prove a point. These games are always the hardest. We’d never walk into a game expecting to win – if you do that, it can easily not work in your favour.

‘Sunderland are going to cause as many problems as they possibly can, so I think it’s going to be an interesting fixture, for sure.’

Reflecting on her own performances to date, Hampton has a positive outlook but admits a tendency to be too self-critical. She believes there are new levels to her game and is thriving on being given the chance to show what she can do.

‘I’m happy with the performances. They’re definitely still nowhere near the standard I set myself, the consistency in my performances can be higher, but I’m quite harsh on myself. I’ll always come off the pitch saying I’ve had a bad game, but Stuart (Searle) and Emma (Hayes) will tell me to wait until I’ve watched it back.

‘I just know what I expect from myself and what I can do, and I don’t think I’ve yet shown everything I can do in training or a game situation. I’m excited with the training we’re getting and obviously any opportunity that comes my way in matches to show my true capabilities.

‘I’ve been here four months and it already feels like home, where I want to spend a lot of time.’