Recapping a busy pre-season schedule, Brentford Women head coach Karleigh Osborne said he wants his side to “be tested” and “challenged” ahead of another London South East Division One North season.

After missing out on a league title and subsequent promotion last season by one point, the Bees are aiming to go one better in 2024/25.

Pre-season kicked off with back-to-back 3-3 draws against seventh-tier side Farnborough and National League outfit Dulwich Hamlet.

The Bees were too strong for Eastern Region Premier Division side Luton Town, beating them 3-1, before fighting out a competitive 2-0 loss to Bristol City Under-21s.

They ended their pre-season with an impressive 5-3 win over London Seaward, who feature in the National League Division One South East against Dulwich Hamlet.

"I’ve been happy. They’ve got stronger every game and I think that’s important. They’ve not necessarily been the cleanest of performances, but it’s all about the improvement,” said Osborne of his side’s pre-season form.

“We want to go and win the league as everybody knows, we want to make sure that we’re performing week in, week out, but it’s important that we test ourselves.

"You can almost set up a bit of false hope when you go and play teams that you might already be better than.

“I want to be tested, I want to be challenged, I want it to be difficult for us and it’s been that this pre-season.

"The players, for me, have stood up to that and that’s what I want to see and that’s what I’m proud of.”

The Bees kick off the league season against Leatherhead on Sunday 18 August: a side they beat 4-0 in the Capital Cup final last season.

Some new faces could be in the matchday team, with new recruits Ashley Cheatley, Lucy Potter and Carolin Engelhard having featured heavily in the pre-season fixtures. Osborne touched on the competition for minutes now with a deeper squad.

He stated: “It’s always difficult but it’s ultimately what we want and what we need to have as a club, we need to have players that are all fighting to start.

"It has to be competitive, that’s what we are now as a club; we want to win trophies, we want to win leagues, and we want to climb up the tiers of women’s football.

“This is just another year for us to showcase what we’re capable of doing and going all the way this year and winning it.

"There’ll be a level of pressure because of the club we are, but if you’re going to play here, it’s something that we have to deal with, staff and players, and we’re in it together.”