Eder Maestre went into the weekend with one win and one draw in his two matches as London City Lionesses head coach.
But in his first home game in charge, his side fell 2-1 to Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City, with Bunny Shaw scoring a late winner.
But Maestre was not too disheartened afterwards, he told the club’s official website.
“I am very proud of our team, I feel we deserved more from the game,” he said.
“We want the players to understand mentality and mindset is important, that warrior mentality and we showed some of that today but can do more.
“This game could be a gamechanger. If we can reach these levels against Manchester City it’s a good point to start building something stronger. We need to use these games to encourage and empower the team.
“We grew in confidence during the game. We started asserting ourselves and showing good signs of what we were working on in the week.
“In the second half we deserved more. We were in the game for the whole match and we have played well and just fallen short.”
And he added that it was a “special day” for him in front of the home crowd at the Copperjax Stadium.
“There were a lot of emotions inside me,” he added. “I’m very excited with the energy our supporters bring to us.”
Maestre may also have been pleased to see some compatriots in the crowd: Spain internationals Mariona Caldentey, Patricia Guijarro and Alexia Putellas.
Beth Mead – who has been linked with a move to London City Lionesses – was also watching.
London City Lionesses: their next match
London City Lionesses’ next match is on Sunday, 1st February, as they travel to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Brighton are one point and two places ahead of London City Lionesses in the table, and go into the match on a surge of momentum. They reached the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, and beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park this weekend.
