West Ham United women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner is ready for the new Barclays Women’s Super League season to begin – and she knows that it is going to be the most competitive yet.
A fantastic 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has recently been and gone, with Skinner herself heading out to Australia to commentate. There were over 70 WSL players in action at the tournament, the most of any professional league.
And with an influx of players now heading to England after successful tournaments, the strength of the top division is only going to continue to grow.
The Hammers themselves have brought in five new players, with Japan international Riko Ueki, who scored twice in her country’s run to the quarter-finals, the most notable of those. England U23 international Emma Harries and 18-year-old Republic of Ireland defender Jessie Stapleton joined early on in the window, whilst Skinner added Megan Walsh to provide competition for No1, Australia international Mackenzie Arnold.
Skinner, who has been working with the team for just over a month, is looking forward to leading the Hammers into the new season and believes that the Club have to continue evolving to keep up with the growth of the women’s game.
She said: “It’s fantastic for the game that things are growing in that way and getting harder and stronger. For us as coaches who have been in the game for such a long period of time, that’s exactly what we’ve all strived towards and wanted to see in the game. I think it’s the challenge we all want.
“I’m new to the Football Club and we have some work to do across the board to try and build the Club into where we really see it wanting to go and so we want to evolve the things that we have, structurally, the process and all that goes into that.
“The commitment from the Club has been huge recently with our women’s board taking over. Baroness Karren Brady, Tara Warren and Nicola Keye are instrumental with what we’re trying to grow as a team. I’m looking to support and work with them in how we evolve that, that’s going to be a big part of the future of West Ham United.”
The World Cup presented a challenge for Skinner, limiting the time that she would have to work with her squad in pre-season. Indeed, her media commitments meant that she did not begin working with the squad until mid-August, whilst those returning from the competition arrived in the weeks that followed.
And after a month of hard work out on the training pitches at Chadwell Heath, Skinner reflects on the work that the team have been putting in, whilst also getting to know one-another as they prepare to embark on the new campaign.
“I think the challenge that we’ve had is the timing that we actually have for pre-season,” she explained.
“Major tournaments going on quite late do create some challenges when settling players in, with the time we do get with them before going on another international break [in September], then starting the season straight after that.
“It’s so key that in the time that we get with those players, we work on team-building activities, on how we want to set out our philosophy and how we want to work together with our playing style.
“We have staff support systems, especially for players who are coming from abroad, to help them settle in, it’s a huge part of what we really need to make sure happens because the off-pitch element is as important as the on pitch.
“For me the whole team is new and I’m getting to know everybody, and the new players coming in are a part of that process. Both personally and professionally we’re getting there with the team for sure, it’s just going to take a little bit of time for everybody, but we’re looking forward to the season.”
The Hammers are looking to build on last season’s eighth-place finish in the WSL standings under previous manager, Paul Konchesky – and with a different style being adopted by Skinner, it is shaping up to be an exciting season.
The boss admits that there will be areas that the team need to get right from the get-go, but that the process will be a journey, not something that will happen overnight.
She explained: “We want to make sure that we really cement a place within the league, we show what we’re about in terms of how we want to go about our identity and the style of play, and we make sure that the players that we have within the team are able to perform at the highest possible level they can, and we utilize them to their strengths.
“Those are some huge areas that we want to get right, along with the culture of the team moving forwards.
“I think the biggest thing for me and my own philosophy, and that of the players and the Club, is that we want to give everything that we possibly can to ensure that the fans really enjoy what we’re about as a football team.
“Our work ethic should never be in question and ultimately, everyone wants to learn and improve. Within the squad and the staff that are here, everybody is definitely of that mindset, which has been a real pleasure to work with since joining the Club.”
Watch West Ham United women's team in their first Barclays Women's Super League match of the season! Purchase your ticket by clicking on the graphic below!
