With pre-season well underway ahead of the start of their new season next month, County Ladies manager Steve O’Hara provides an update on how preparations are going at Stockport Sports Village in this season’s first County Ladies Update.
Pre-season underway:
It’s been a tough start to pre-season for the Ladies, as we have been testing ourselves against teams from the Division above in the FAWNL, with another one to come on Thursday away at Liverpool Feds.
Whilst disappointed not to get on the scoresheet in our first game against Brighouse, a much improved performance against Fylde on Sunday saw us score three against last season’s third-place finishers in the Northern Premier Division, with County keeping the ball better and looking much sharper.
Playing teams above us in the league follows the idea of ‘play like the team you want to be’, a reflection on something Simon Wilson mentioned in one of his interviews with Jon Keighren.
Manager Steve O’Hara said:
“We are well into our pre-season schedule now, my first with the girls. Everyone has worked tremendously hard, with nine fitness-based sessions leading in to eight friendly games.
“It’s probably harder than most of the players are used to, but I have to say, the mood around the whole Club is fantastic at the moment. We have gone about our business quietly, taken our time over player recruitment and it’s moving in the right direction. I am hoping to announce new signings this week, with some exciting new players joining us on our journey.
“The FA Women’s National League fixture list came out last week and we have been handed a really tough start, playing the teams who finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the league last season in our first three games. This means we have to make sure that we have the players absolutely ready for the big kick-off on 21st August!
“I’m really looking forward to my first full season in charge and hope to see lots of County fans down at Stockport Sports Village to support the girls …. and hopefully at Edgeley Park at some point too!”
Click here to see County’s fixture list in full.
Success at Junior Open Training Days:
This year’s Junior Open Training days were very well attended, and with the interest in the Women’s Euros and the continuing success of The Lionesses, we are getting a lot of young players coming into the Club right now.
Anyone interested in joining the Club should complete the contact form on our website – click here to go there now.
