Sofia Määttä knows what it means to compete in the ScottishPower Women's Premier League post-split run-in, having done so in her first season in Scotland last year.
Currently in her sophomore campaign, Sofia is ready to play her part as we look to close in on domestic success. Ahead of Sunday's visit to fourth-placed Rangers, City sit four points clear at the top of the SWPL table and have booked our place in the Sky Sports Cup final, where we will face Leanne Crichton's side once more at Fir Park next week.
Sofia said: "Playing these difficult games every week can be stressful, of course, but it’s the position that we want to be in. It’s where every team wants to be.
“We just need to enjoy the pressure and be ready to go and do what we know we can do every week.
“There are going to be a lot of opportunities to show how good you can be and what you can give the team, so it’s about trying to show that to everyone.”
The forward experienced the intensity of the split last term, which she says has proven to be good preparation for our current schedule.
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Such a demanding period has also been helped by, the Finnish international believes, how she has developed as a person and a player during her time in Scotland thus far.
Sofia, who has scored five goals in 19 league appearances this season, added: "From last year, I know what to expect and how intense this time of the season is. I know what it takes to be ready for the next game.
“I’ve definitely grown a lot as a person. I’m more experienced than I was a year ago. I feel like I’m more comfortable in the team and I’m trying to take on a bigger role.
“I think it is just down to knowing my teammates more, especially the ones who were here last season, too, and I’m more confident, especially when it comes to things like speaking English.
“When it is your first season, people maybe don’t have as high expectations because you’re new, but coming back here in the summer, I knew what things would be like.
“This season, there have definitely been ups and downs.
“I’ve been quite healthy for most of the season. Everyone wants to be fit and to be available to help the team, so I’m pleased to have been able to do that so far.”
At only 21 years old, Sofia is yet to experience winning silverware in her career. She knows it is a possibility this term, with the first trophy up for grabs in next weekend's Sky Sports Cup final.
She said: "I’ve never won any trophies, so it would be a first for me. The first one of my career – it would be a special one. I’m excited for the chance of winning trophies.
“We haven’t really had time to think about the final because we’ve had the league games, but next week we have the whole week to focus on it. It’ll be exciting.
“It’s going to be its own game. We will see how this Sunday goes against them in the league, but we might change things for the final and so might they. It will definitely be two different games.”