Chelsea Women return to action for the first time since Sunday’s Continental Cup final defeat at the hands of Arsenal, looking to take full advantage of one of our games in hand and close the gap on Manchester United at the top of the WSL table.

On Monday it was confirmed Brighton, who lie in 11th place, had parted ways with their head coach Jens Scheuer following just six games in charge. Charles knows that adds an extra wrinkle to today’s fixture.

‘We’ve always, always had tough tests against Brighton,’ she stressed.

‘We’ll be expecting another. Obviously their manager has just gone so it’s a bit of a unknown. There’s that element to contend with as well.

‘They’re not going to change too much in a short amount of time, but we will prepare for everything and in the game we can adapt as well. We need to be ready to be flexible and sort it out as a team.

‘They’re fighting to stay in the league, and no game is an easy game,' she added.

'That’s a credit to the league, but we will be expecting another tough test.’

The Blues are back on home soil in what is our first WSL fixture at Kingsmeadow since mid-December, and Charles is excited for our fantastic fans to help us return to winning ways.

‘The fans are going to be so important. They’ve created such a good atmosphere there and we love playing there. We have a good record there and we’re looking forward to seeing them hopefully in full voice.

‘We’re looking forward to it. One of the best things about football is there’s another game so quickly around the corner. We’re very disappointed after Sunday but we’re looking to put it right in a massive game.’

Today is also International Women’s Day, with the Chelsea Foundation announcing a new initiative which will offer 5000 young girls their first experience of football.

Charles put into words what the day means to her.

‘A celebration of the women that have come before us and a time to celebrate how far we’ve come, the progress we’ve made.

‘It’s also a day to celebrate the amazing women you have in your life, and recognise the people who are enabling women to achieve their full potential and grow and have the opportunities they deserve.

‘It’s also a good reminder we still have a good way to go, and it’s an opportunity to keep pushing it in the faces of people we have a long way to go, we’re here and what amazing things women can do.’