Oxford United Women return for pre-season training this week with Manager Liam Gilbert hoping that his time spent with Karl Robinson and the First Team squad in Spain last week can help the Women’s side as they build to the start of the season.
Liam spent three days alongside Karl in Spain and told us
“It was fascinating and really useful. I basically kept in the background and observed what was going on but the sheer level of planning, detail and analysis was amazing.
“People see the pictures of the players running on the pitches and working hard but they don’t see the planning meetings for each session, the feedback on performance, the way that every person on that backroom team interacts and helps the other. The professionalism and the experience that surrounds the players is incredible and I felt very privileged to be able to see it first hand.
“We have our own high standards of course but that ‘one club culture’ is only going to help us develop.
“We report back this week and have our own programme to follow. Cheryl Williams has made the transition from player to coach and that’s going to give us fresh ideas but just like Karl was saying last week, we mirror the First Team over the last few years where we have gone so close to achieving what we wanted. Can we all push ourselves that little bit extra? Can we look back at last season and learn from it? Can we change the culture and the performances by that tiny amount we need to be successful this time around?”