We spoke with Chorltonians manager, Paul Caddick, whose team hosts North West Premier outfit Blackburn CSC in the SSE Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, after beating a former Premier League side in the last round.
SK: Tell us about your coaching/playing career.
PC: I played as an uncomplicated centre back in the West Mids Alliance, Shropshire Premier Division and Telford Sunday League for Shifnal Town and Shifnal Juniors. I started to give back by coaching at Hough End Griffins JFC. we played in the South Manchester Girls League and amongst other trophies won the Manchester FA County Cup twice at U-14 and U-16 beating Manchester City in the final on both occasions.
The majority of that team became Chorltonians Ladies FC and are now in their third season at open-age having finished third and runners up in the [Greater Manchester League] Cup Final in our first season and runners up in the league and cup winners last season. We were the only team to beat FC United and until last Sunday had the joint highest league victory against them. My style as a coach is based on trust, hard work and integrity. As long as my players give their best the result is secondary. It’s how we learn individually and collectively that matters. All of the players are technically sound, it’s how they apply themselves, not only in football but in life, that counts.
SK: How did you feel about your win at Curzon Ashton?
PC: It was a great feeling, we knew before the game that we would have a challenge on our hands as they play in the equivalent to three divisions higher, so we knew they were going to be really tough opponents. We fought hard and everyone put the extra effort we needed into the game and it was great to come away with the result.
SK: Can you go further? What’s your thoughts on Sunday’s opposition?
PC: Given the success of the last game, I know everyone will be going out to do their very best and try to win the game. Blackburn [Community Sports Club] have a really good, experienced side and will definitely give us a tough challenge if we want to progress further. I think at this point we are just taking one game at a time, as this is our debut venture in the FA Cup, and also a first for any Chorltonians side.
SK: Have you had many changes over the summer?
PC: Given our success from last year – runners up in the league and league cup winners, we are definitely looking at the league with a winning mentality and want to ensure that we continue our previous success in both the league and cup competitions. With a few changes this season due to promotions and relegations, there are a few new additions to the league this season who we haven’t had much experience playing, so this could be our main concern moving forward. I think we have the best opportunity this season to go on and do very well.
SK: How has your league season started?
PC: As we have a core of young players who have progressed into open-age football from Hough End Griffins U-16s, this season meant losing quite a few player as many of them are off to University. This gave us a challenge and an opportunity to be able to recruit new players. We worked hard over the summer and had a great pre-season of games to help improve our communication and awareness of each other, to be able to produce a team this season just as strong, if not stronger, than the team from the previous two seasons.
SK: What are your expectations for the season?
PC: Due to playing in the FA Cup, we have only played one league game, which resulted in a 2-0 victory over Burnage Metro. It was great for us as they are a team we have never played before, so was excellent to get the win and the first 3 points of the season.
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