After the Lionesses retained the Arnold Clark Cup trophy with a resounding 6-1 in over Belgium at Bristol, Lucy Bronze chatted to the press in the mixed zone about some of the fresher faces in the squad and how good Chloe Kelly is. Rosa Maitland reports…
Lucy on whether she is feeling reinvigorated at Barcelona:
“I’m just enjoying my football, Barcelona has helped me improve by playing with different players and from England as well your relationships with key players like Lauren James and being around people like Maya [Le Tissier] and Katie [Robinson], it’s nice to be around players who are enthusiastic, it gives you extra energy in the games and in training, so it’s been good for both England and at Barca.”
On how we saw a lot more of Lauren James and Chloe Kelly on the flanks during the ACC, compared to the settled side featuring Lauren Hemp and Beth Mead during the EURO and the strength and depth that demonstrates ni and around the squad:
“Yeah I think the difference is Sarina has given opportunities to more players who are playing in form, LJ [Lauren James] has come in because she has done well at club, before the Euros she probably wasn’t doing as well as now. Chloe was obviously out injured with her ACL, but LJ is a really young player, someone like Katie Robinson is a really young payer but they get opportunities to come in training and into games and to push each other. It’s the strength of the squad and if you play well you get the opportunity to play for England.”
On Lauren James who was named the Player of the Tournament and also how brilliantly Chloe Kelly played during the competition:
“I think Chloe has been doing really well at City recently and I think she has brought that form into the England shirt; I think she did well in the first game that she played. We are seeing the Chloe Kelly that I think was always there, it was unfortunate that she was injured before the Euros, and she probably didn’t get as many minutes in the Euros, but her performance tonight was unbelievable. It’s a pleasure to play with people like Chloe and LJ, it makes my life a lot easier because they are doing their job well and I don’t have to run as much.”
On the youthful nature of the squad/camp and what that has been like:
“For me, it’s been fun. I have probably spent the most time with Maya (Le Tissier) and LJ, probably two of the younger players. It’s just nice that they are hungry for game time and to learn things, to improve, and to get better and they have great attitudes and they are all very different. It’s nice that we can bring them into the squad and nothing changes, we still win. They play well when they play for England and they feel comfortable.”
On the journey the Lionesses have been on from a year ago and how it feels, particularly looking ahead to the World Cup:
“I think the team feels really good. Last year we weren’t with Sarina (Wiegman) that long so we were trying to rush things a little bit more than what we could have, whereas now we have been able to settle in more. We all know Sarina really well and we all know the mentality of the squad and what we are capable of and the expectations. Whereas last year we were only with her [Sarina] for probably six months and then we were going into a big EURO, so it was a lot to take on whereas now we probably feel more settled as a team and as staff as well.”
