Sampson meets the media

The 31-year-old Welshman had just revealed his squad list for the upcoming La Manga training camp – a week that will include a full international match against Norway. It was a list of surprises that gave him a chance to discuss his approach to the most prestigious coaching job in the women’s game. His day in Wembley, where he has an office next to England men’s boss Roy Hodgson, was a busy one, with television and newspaper interviews to get through. She Kicks was invited along too and we thought we’d bring you some of the new man’s views on, amongst other things:
 

• Getting the England job
• His expectations and philosophies
• How ex-England boss Hope Powell has offered her help
• His experience running Swansea men’s centre of excellence
• The players he has called up
• The players he has omitted
• How he expects his assistant Marieanne Spacey to boost the senior set-up
• How he would love to get a few coaching tips from men’s team manager Roy Hodgson.

Here goes…

On getting the England job:
“I’m incredibly proud and honoured to be given this fantastic opportunity, I’ll do absolutely everything I can to help the players and the team to be the best they can possibly be as people and as a group to represent England.”

On Hope Powell:
“Hope is an incredible woman. The women’s game should be grateful for all her hard work, she’s been a wonderful ambassador for women’s football. Hope sent me a text on the day I was announced as the new England head coach. It was incredibly positive and supportive, it was a fantastic gesture from her and I’m grateful for it. I also spent time with her at the Uefa head coaches’ conference (last week in Nyon). She’s assured me that she’s on the end of a phone and willing to support the women’s game going forward. That speaks volumes for her as a person.”

On how it feels to replace her:
“Daunting but exciting. It’s going to be a change because the players have only worked with one national team manager, but moving forward I’ve got my own ideas and philosophies and I’m looking forward to implementing them.”

On those philosophies:
“Making sure that we represent the country in the right way. We want to be a hardworking and honest group that really want to put a shift in for England. We want to play modern football – being on the front foot, trying to play attractive football. We’ll be looking to use good old-fashioned English values – hard work, aggressive pressing of the ball, attacking football that supporters can enjoy.”

On his ideas for team formation:
“We had various shapes at Bristol, sometimes dictated by what players we had, sometimes by my own philosophies. I’m a modern coach, and for me it’s about assessing the players first. We’re not going to put square pegs in round holes, the players have to feel comfortable. I want to make sure that they’re in a position to express themselves and show their quality. I’ve got to utilise the role they’re playing for their clubs so we can get the best out of them in a national jersey and that will be the methodology moving forward.”

On his move into coaching:
“I wasn’t a very good player. I realised my future wasn’t in playing. From the age of 16 I’ve been studying and working with different age groups, girls and boys, men, so I’ve got lots of experience. I’m still a young coach but I’ve got 15 years experience behind me and qualifications. I’m in a great position now to utilise that knowledge in this environment.”

On his progression as a coach:
“It was a case of gaining all the qualifications I needed, whether that be academic or coaching, and gaining as much experience as I could. I put a lot of hours in at Bristol and intend to do the same at the FA.”

On his first coaching job with Swansea City:
“It was an incredibly exciting time for me, to work with the younger players, some excellent ones who’ve gone on to become professionals and some great staff who helped shape my own philosophy. They weren’t the club they are today, but we made sure we got the best out of what we’d got. Some of those players have gone on to achieve great things.”

On working with then Swansea boss Roberto Martinez:
“It was a fantastic experience to work with Roberto and Graeme Jones, his assistant. They created a friendly environment where we could sit down for a cup of coffee and discuss football. For me, having not played the game at a professional level, the more exposure I could get to that was a great opportunity.”

On leaving Swansea for the women’s game:
“A fantastic opportunity came up at Bristol, at a club playing at the highest level and for me to be the boss, to make the decisions. The attraction of working for a club with a limited history and tradition gave me a clean sheet of paper and the opportunity to develop a philosophy – to make some mistakes, but also to get a lot right, which we did. We shaped a football club.”

On leaving Bristol Academy:
“I’ve had an incredible five years. I knew that one day I would have to leave, but it would only be for the opportunity to work with the national team. We created history – two FA Cup finals, European football and the club’s highest finish. But I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve developed so many home-grown players to play at the highest level.”

On not having managed at an international level before:
“I haven’t got that experience but my experience of the highest level of the women’s game is an important one. The WSL has got many international players. In my time at Bristol I worked with many internationals. We played Liverpool at the end of last season who have many internationals. You can argue that the level of that game was equivalent to a top international game. In terms of my understanding of the quality needed, it’s certainly there. I’m in a fortunate position with the FA that they’ve supported me to observe England internationals. I’ve spent a lot of time with other countries looking at the work they do – I was lucky enough to go to France to see what type of work they’ve done.

On coping with tournament play:
“It will be a big challenge for me and the players. I’m fortunate with the FA that the support the women’s team gets is massive. We’ve got a big back-room staff who are the best in their field.”

On the appointment of Arsenal legend Marieanne Spacey as his assistant:
“Marieanne is incredible. She’s really honest, a great coach and has unbelievable experience of the international game. The players will respect her because she was a wonderful player. She’s been to major tournaments. She understands what the players want and need. We’ve had long chats about how we see the game and the team. What I wanted was someone who shares my philosophy and who I can feed off. Some of the strengths I’ve got, she can help me with and some of the areas she’s good at, she can be a fantastic asset for us.”
 

On bringing in other staff:
“We’re looking to appoint a [goalkeeping] coach for the first team but also a full-time goalkeeping coach who will be responsible for every woman goalkeeper in the UK. It’s a position we want to develop world class players in.”

On getting advice from England men’s boss Roy Hodgson:
“Incredibly for me my office is right next to Mr Hodgson’s and Mr Southgate’s. Team England is looking to marry the way the men and the women are working. It’s incredible. What a statement for them to make towards the women’s game. If I can [get their advice] that’s certainly something I want to do. [Roy] is a man who has fantastic knowledge of the international game and the club game. He’s been around the game for such a long time, so if I can be involved with Roy at any stage it will be incredible for me and the team.”

On the omission of England skipper Casey Stoney from La Manga:
“Casey is not fit but I’ve had a really positive conversation with Casey, we’ve managed to sit down for a couple of hours and have a chat about where we see things going. Casey was incredibly honest and she is obviously a fantastic footballer with unbelievable experience and a really strong character and she knows that when she is fit she is available for selection and that’s something that’s really important to me.”

On Kelly Smith:
“Kelly, we didn’t feel, was in a position to come with us this time due to her fitness. It is going to be quite an intense camp and it is probably best for her to stay with Arsenal and get a good pre-season under her belt. She wants to play for England and she is a world class player and going forward we are obviously going to monitor it and I’m sure that if she is back playing well for Arsenal, she’ll have a great opportunity of being involved in our plans.”

On Rachel Yankey:
“Rachel is fit but we’ve chosen this time not to select her. It is a training camp and it’s important to reiterate that. It’s a great chance for us to look at some new faces and Rachel understood that. She also understands that the door is firmly open.”

On Katie Chapman:
“I also had a chat with Katie. Katie is a fantastic footballer and a strong character and she has made it clear that she is available for selection, she wants to get back involved, not only in the short term but looking towards the 2015 World Cup if we are to qualify. She’s back involved in the set-up in terms of fitness testing and the general player pool. Again, if she is playing well for her club and is back to full fitness, like any other player, she’s got a good opportunity to be selected.”

On choosing a captain:
“We haven’t selected a captain. Casey is the current captain and again I’ve had a conversation with her to explain that for La Manga there will be a competitive international so we will have to make a decision, but that’s the position we need to think about and make sure we make the right decision. Casey is certainly someone we would consider for that role because of her experience, her quality and when she is back in the squad it is certainly a discussion we’ll have to have.”

On those who made the cut such as Lianne Sanderson:
“I had a conversation with Lianne because for me it’s important to know which players I’ve got at my disposal and how important it is for them to represent their country. It was an incredibly positive conversation and she was someone I felt I couldn’t ignore and I wanted to have a closer look at. I’m sure she’ll be nervous because she hasn’t seen the players for a long time but I got the impression that she is incredibly passionate about playing for her country and wants to get back involved. She has an opportunity now and we’ll see how she goes.”

On some others:
“Jodie [Taylor] in particular has been in great form for her various clubs. Her record this year in goals per game is exceptional, even when she was in the Super League she had a great goal scoring record and Gilly [Flaherty] I feel has had a good couple of seasons at Arsenal and deserves an opportunity. I’m looking forward to working with both of them next month.

On giving previously overlooked players a clean slate:
“I will judge people how I find them and it is important when they are on camp, not just how they are playing but how they conduct themselves, how positive their attitude is and how they work with their team mates. They are the type of skills I’m going to be assessing in this first camp. I hope a lot of the players outside the squad are still excited by the appointment and they know that if they can perform well for their clubs and work hard in their training programmes they will be given an opportunity if we deem it right.”

On the atmosphere in his camp:
“We want an atmosphere which is conducive to producing a world class team. Sometimes that’s going to be with lots of smiles on faces, sometimes that’s going to be with a lot of sweat, tears and hard work. It’s important we do produce that environment because we want to compete with some of the best teams in the world. We want to put some foundations in place in the early camps. The players have got to come in, be incredibly professional and understand they are representing their country whether that be on the training pitch, in the field or out and about and that’s important for me.”

On where he feels he can get England in the next four years:
“It’s going to be a real journey for us. We’ve got to set ourselves high targets and aim to be the best we can possibly be and as long as we’re striving towards them, we are moving in the right direction. For us now, moving forward, it’s about setting the right tone, creating that world class environment and making sure we give ourselves the best possible chance to win every single football match we go into.”

Pictured – Mark Sampson (Photo at Wembley: Catherine Etoe), Marieanne Spacey during her time as Fulham Ladies coach (Action Images), Lianne Sanderson (Boston Breakers)

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