How long have you been coaching and why did you get involved?

I was involved as assistant at another club for half of last season but took on a lead role over the summer with Sale U14s Tigresses

Whats The most enjoyable aspect of being a coach?

Cliched but the bond that you create with each individual in the team and their families. Watching them develop as footballers is great but as people, as they become adults, is really something else.

Whats the most challenging aspect of being a coach?

Keeping all of the girls interested/ enthusiastic in the sessions you put on when you have a range of abilities and reasons they are playing the sport. Ensuring no girl misses more than 20 minutes of any game (a rule I have imposed myself can also be very difficult whilst trying to give the girls the best chance of winning the game. When you have 3 subs this means that 12 of your 14 players will have been on the sideline at some point during each game.

Whats the most enjoyable match you’ve been involved in?

Not at the time but in hindsight our only loss of the season so far. A team subsequently promoted 3 divisions, that beat every side in our division at the time by scoring double figures, beat us 3-0 in a close game very early on in the season. We were naturally disappointed at the time, however looking back, for a team bedding in new players at a club they’d all only just joined, this was a great result and still one of our strongest performances.

How do you go about planning and delivering your training session?

I tend to focus on our biggest development area which is ball retention and include different drills with the same objective into every session. We will mix this up with fitness work and things that were identified in the game before, as areas to improve on, and usually end with a game so that my name isn’t mud in everyone’s car on the way home!

Whats the attitude of your players in your team?

Outstanding generally. They do like a natter while I’m trying to explain drills and during team talks but fall silent on the pitch! They attend every training session they can, seldom miss games and do everything asked of them on the pitch, without questioning.

Whats your opinion of Sale United?

Coaches of the other teams at the club are all really helpful and supportive which is a massive help, particularly when we’re new to the club.