Former West Ham United women’s team captain Gilly Flaherty has been excited by the performances that the team have produced in the early stages of the new campaign.
The now-retired defender spent four seasons wearing the armband of the Hammers, leading them to an FA Cup final in their first professional season in 2018-19, as well as racking up over 100 appearances for the Club in all competitions.
As well has her escapades with West Ham, Flaherty is also considered to be Barclays Women’s Super League royalty, having previously broken the league appearance record before retiring in January 2023.
Flaherty joined Chris Scull as Co-host on the latest episode of Iron Cast, the official West Ham United podcast, where they chatted with women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner.
In her new role commentating on WSL fixtures for Sky Sports, Flaherty admits that she is watching more football than she was ever able to during her playing days, and she covered West Ham’s battling 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Kingsmeadow.
She also has one eye on the Clubs results, maintaining that West Ham will also have a place in her heart of many special years in east London.
West Ham still feels like home to me.
It’s the first time I’ve been back at the training ground since I left the Club, and it feel good to be back - I had some really great years here.
I can remember joining the Club after leaving Chelsea. There was talk of West Ham being awarded a spot in the WSL and I remember thinking that it would be a good move for me. It was near to where I was living at the time, and I was excited by the challenge.
I can remember coming down to the training ground, which was at Rush Green at the time, and was shown around by Beardy [Matt Beard] and Jack Sullivan. We had a good chat and I remember how excited I was about getting on board. West Ham weren’t just joining the league to make up the numbers, there was a real plan in place.
It was a real honour to be the first captain of the Club heading into that first season in the WSL.
West Ham definitely got my more mature years as a player, and they gave me the opportunity to lead a team for the first time as the skipper. I’d been vice captain at Arsenal and at Chelsea, but the Club put a lot of faith in me as a player to be the person to lead the team in the WSL era.
I always felt like West Ham was my project too, and it really did feel like a home for me when I was here. I always used to joke before I retired that I would come back to the Club and be the manager one day. I just have just a love for the Club that I could see it being the place where I would come back and be involved if the opportunity ever came up.
Hopefully I’m still remembered as a player who gave everything for the Club whether than be on or off the pitch, and I hope that reflected in the performances that I produced as well.
I’m excited by the start West Ham have made under Rehanne Skinner.
I worked with Rehanne when I was a young pup at Arsenal, and she was my assistant manager. She’s got a lot of experience, but I also think she knows about bringing a winning mentality to the Club.
The last year or so has been tough for West Ham in terms of results, and the players that they have in the squad didn’t reflect on their league position last season. I think Rehanne is somebody that will get the very best out of the group of players that she has, and it’s going to be exciting to see how the rest of the season pans out.
I was on commentary duty for Sky for the game against Chelsea, and I thought it was the best I’d seen a West Ham team play against Chelsea, even from when I was here. The style of play was exciting, and the team were being really positive, passing the ball around. Fingers crossed I’ll be at a couple more West Ham games this season because it was a great game to watch.
Want to watch Skinner's Hammers in action? Get your tickets for this Sunday's WSL fixture against Bristol City, with tickets available at the discounted price of £6 for Adults and £2 for Juniors! Click on the graphic below to purchase yours!
