McManus: It Feels Great To Be Back
- LCFC Women have returned to Belvoir Drive for pre-season testing
- City retained top-flight status by finishing 11th in the WSL in 2021/22
- Abbie McManus is striving to improve on that debut campaign
- The defender gave insight into the team’s first day back
Welcomed back to Belvoir Drive for the first time since May, there was a buzz around the camp as the squad met up and readjusted to the intensity of day-to-day training at the Club’s base.
For McManus, entering her second season with the Foxes after making 24 appearances across all competitions in 2021/22, the summer break allowed reflection on last term, which saw City retain Barclays Women’s Super League status, as well as time to focus the mind on the challenge ahead.
“It was obviously really nice to be on the beach and let the sun soak into your skin,” she admitted to LCFC TV. “It’s been nice to finally have some time off and the mental break has been really refreshing.
McManus: We’re All Excited For The Season Ahead
Abbie McManus outlines the standards LCFC Women are looking to set ahead in pre-season, ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
“To reflect on last season, to be honest, it wasn’t the best season. We were in a relegation battle, but at the end of the day, the task was to stay up and we did that. We’ve got another year of top-flight football, so let’s hope we can do better than last season.
“We can say that we are in the WSL for another season now, so it’s exciting to play top-flight football, it’s obviously everybody’s dream to do that. We’ve got some of the Academy kids who have joined us this season as well, which is exciting.”
Plans are in place to ensure that the players can gear up gradually to fire on all cylinders as the new campaign, which begins on the weekend of 9-11 September, comes into view.
The team’s first days involve a series of different fitness-based tests and sessions before hitting the gym and returning to more regular training later in the week.
The defender, who has 17 senior caps for England, continued: "We had the 10-week schedule sent out to us and there’s a few gruelling ones and a few fun sessions along the way. There’s obviously a lot of pre-season friendlies which we are all looking forward to, just to get our boots back on and have a game.
“It’s always different to doing the tests, like we are doing this week. It’s going to be tough, but we’ve got 10 weeks to get fit, which is quite a long pre-season. It’s going to be gradual and obviously we want to peak at the right time. Lydia [Bedford] has put some fun in, so it should be good.
“We’re all just really ready to go. We’ve got 10 weeks to work hard, build together all as one and put ourselves in the best position for the team and obviously fight it out. It’s going to be interesting.”
The experienced centre-back sees the implementation of a positive environment off the pitch as an important factor, to aid results on it. The collective mentality of working together can serve the group well, she believes.
The 29-year-old explained: “I was a vice captain last year, but for me it’s more about getting the group together as a family and getting the culture of this team into a better place.
“Hopefully we can create that family experience that obviously Leicester as a whole has. A lot of work has to go into this, and Lydia is all for it. As long as we all buy into the same thing, hopefully we’ll get there, and it will only improve the football on the grass at the end of the day.
“I’m glad that everyone has had some good time off, but we’re all here now to work and we know what we’re aiming for and that’s to do better than last season. Let’s hope we can do that.”