On Wednesday evening, Kaptein provided assists for both of our goals in our UEFA Women’s Champions League victory against Roma, and then claimed the Player of the Match trophy.

It was the second individual accolade claimed by the Dutch international after our league phase matches; the first came after she scored a brilliant strike in our 1-0 victory over Austria Vienna.

And although she was pleased with her performance at Plough Lane, she typically shifted the praise onto her team-mates.

‘It's a nice stadium. I like playing there,’ she told us. ‘Of course, I had two assists against Roma. But I think one of the defenders should have it, to be honest. Kadeisha (Buchanan), Lucy (Bronze), and Veerle (Buurman) did very well to get the clean sheet, and I think that's just as important as assists or the goals.

‘It’s nice to get the assists, though. I have a really good connection with Ellie (Carpenter). When she came in, we found each other very easily. Of course, I can do a lot of things better. I could hold the ball sometimes a little bit better, but everyone can learn.’

Kaptein speaks of a reset in the summer where she evaluated her own performances from last season and worked hard to improve. Her motivation was not only to earn more minutes, but also to contribute to the collective effort and allow others to shine.

‘It is my game, to be honest,’ she continues. ‘My team-mates see what I do for them, and that’s the only thing that’s important to me. My main strength is to make other players play at their best.

‘I'm on a good run right now: I feel good. I think if you see my statistics, I recover a lot of balls. I also like making key passes. I really like it when my teammates are feeling good on the pitch. That’s when I feel good on the pitch.

‘In the second half of last season, I didn't play as much, so I did a lot of work in pre-season. I work really hard and look at myself. I like to do the unselfish things in a game for the team, and I think that helps other players show their strengths.

‘I try to do that and also play my own game, making assists, and I hope to score a little bit more too. I want to be as important as I can be and help the team as much as I can. We have incredible midfielders this season. I think it's good; it keeps everyone sharp!’

While Kaptein has started all but one of our games this term, she sees the value of those brought on as substitutes. In our last two matches against Crystal Palace and Roma, those introduced have scored key second-half goals to help us to victory.

The 21-year-old also points to the 6-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. The game was level at 1-1 until a triple substitution just before the hour mark, another example of when the changes have worked to good effect.

‘I think the key, to be honest, is that we’re performing really well as a team,’ she explains. ‘The starters and the substitutes are just as important. It doesn't really matter who plays, but usually our substitutions make a difference in the game, and I think that's what has changed games a lot this season.

‘You could see it against Tottenham; they played well against us for 60 minutes, and then we brought our substitutes on, and we scored five goals. We're helping each other. Everyone wants to fight for each other, and I think that's really changed this year.’

We travel to Charlton tomorrow to face a side yet to score a point in their seven matches since being promoted from the second tier last summer. But Kaptein knows only too well that the Blues must not be complacent, no matter who we come up against.

‘They are fighting for points,’ she says. ‘So we need to be ready for them. We need to be consistent and focus on our own performances. We don't need to score in the first or second minute. We need to get the goal and then keep going.'