Women's Team
"Let's go for it!" Darel Tidman-Poole on Shrews Women's pre-season
With pre-season just around the corner, head coach Darel Tidman-Poole provided an insight into team preparations, the ongoing development within the club and her ambitions for the upcoming season.
Darel was full of optimism and determination ahead of the new campaign, highlighting the importance of hard work, togetherness and progressing as a club.
"It’s a big challenge ahead of us," she began. "There's definitely a sense of excitement and nervous anticipation with the players I’ve spoken to.
"The trials were really well attended, which shows the club is firmly on the map.
"I’m keen to make sure the group feels welcomed, comfortable and safe.
"We are really pleased with the quality of players who came through."
Darel then touched on the ETC (Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation's under-16s girls football programme) and explained that her goal is to strengthen their connection and build from within.
"Turning 16 in life is a big milestone, let alone in football.
"It’s not a stepping stone; it’s a flying leap.
"Some players will make that leap immediately like we saw last season with Katie (Smith), Eva (Stanley) and Emily (Jennings-Davies).
"But others may take more time and that’s absolutely fine; there's no motorway to senior football, it’s a winding road."
Shrews Women's pre-season gets underway imminently, and Darel revealed it will be a busy period for the team.
"We’ve got lots of plans in place. We’re pleased to announce some things to the players which will hopefully make their lives a lot easier, giving them the opportunity to focus more on the sort of work we do on the pitch.
"It's building on what we achieved last season, looking at the things we did right and positively and making sure those remain consistent."
Pre-season fixtures are on the horizon and it's an opportunity for the club to try new systems, look at players in different roles and build match fitness.
"They aren’t the be-all and end-all – we won’t be sharing results," Darel explained. "Pre-season won’t be focused on results, it will be more about performances and seeing if we can do things in a certain way to make sure we can be successful in this division."
As the interview came to a close, Darel left a heartfelt message to all involved: "For my staff, let’s go for it! I know we have lives away from football, but let’s give it our all.
"To my players, continue buying into the process, it’ll be hard work but also really rewarding. Most importantly, we get to do it together.
"To the fans, thank you! I asked you to come along last season and your support was fantastic, so more of the same this year, please."
"And finally to our sponsors, your support is hugely appreciated – we’re grateful to have you with us as we continue building something special."
