Charlie Bill, the Head Coach of MK Dons Women’s, spoke to iFollow MK Dons ahead of this weekend’s season opener.
MK Dons Women look to kick-start their season with a victory as they face Crawley Wasps in their 2022/2023 season opener.
Having made seven signings so far, Charlie Bill is ‘excited’ for the upcoming campaign but
has deemed that Crawley will be a “tough game to start off the season.”
That being said, he also mentioned the change of mindset within the squad saying that “our mindsets have changed, because we’re now going there wanting three points and expecting to achieve that.”
When questioned further about the season opener, Bill said:
“We can’t wait! We have had such a good pre-season that hasn’t been impacted by Covid and the whole squad are excited. It’s a season we’re looking forward to and going into with quite a lot of confidence.
“We’ve had one of the toughest pre-seasons which we set ourselves, and because of that we’re physically further than we were last year. We’re all pleased with how pre-season went for us and we can’t wait to get going.
MK Dons Women face Crawley Wasps, who finished fifth last season, four places ahead of the Dons.
When questioned about the opponent, the Head Coach said, “Crawley are good at home and they hardy ever draw, so they know how to hold on to their lead or chase a game when needed.”
“It will be a tough game to start the season, but we’re maintain the expectation of going there to get three points. It’s not going to be an easy game, but we must stand up and be counted every minute, I believe we can go and do that.”
Stadium MK will host the Women’s team for another season, the Club being one of the first to allow their Women’s team to play on the same pitch as their Men’s first team.
The home of MK Dons was also used throughout the Women’s EUROS tournament and hosted a staggering Semi-Final between Germany and France which was attended by a crowd of a near 28,000.
Bill explained that there was ‘a real buzz around the players after the EUROS’ which the Lionesses claimed victory in after beating Germany 2-1 in the final.
When asked about the effect that the EUROS has had on Women’s football, Bill responded: “Everyone is excited to be a part of the Women’s game.
“A lot of the staff that have been involved in the game for a long time and have seen the growth over the years, may now see this as their time to shine. The Women’s EUROS just shows you how much the Women’s game has grown over the years.
“A lot of our young female footballers within our RTC programme, watched the semi-final between France and Germany in front of nearly 28,000 fans. They can now use that experience and believe that one day that could be them playing at that level. Which is the real exciting thing.”
Bill’s team return to Stadium MK later this month for their first home fixture against Cheltenham Town. On Stadium MK opener, Bill said:
“I can’t wait for that first home game, hopefully we can come back after two positive results. The supporters can really help lift us and hopefully it’ll be a great occasion for the first home game of the season.”
