Eva Olid insists that Hearts are "getting closer" to reaching aspirations

After a record-breaking last campaign, the Edinburgh side are aiming to push the boundaries again this season. Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City have long held a monopoly on the SWPL1, with the trio all finishing in the top three comfortably over the past three seasons. However, alongside Hibs, Hearts intend on closing that gap this season with Olid believing that they are making good progress on that aspiration.

“We are closer than we were last season,” she said. “When we play against them, we feel that we are closer in terms of performance. The small details have helped them get the points but after the Glasgow City game, we have more confidence and I am sure, in the following matches against them, we will get more points.”

Last time out, Hearts managed to pick up their first-ever point against SWPL1 champions Glasgow City as the side played out a 0-0 draw at the Oriam. It was a great display from the hosts to once again enforce the fact that they can compete against the best teams in the country. With another clean sheet added to her collection, defender Carly Girasoli was pleased to see the progress her team is making.

“With them being the current champions as well, it was just good to keep a clean sheet, as a defender we look forward to it,” she added. “It just shows everyone that we are here to compete.

 “We are closer this season [to the top three]. It is going to be dead tight this season, everybody is going to take points off everyone.

“For us, we are just focusing on ourselves and trying to pick up as many points as we can and see where that takes us.”