‘It’s not just about stopping us getting relegated’, says Leicester boss Bedford as Foxes plot fightback
LYDIA BEDFORD is under no illusion of the huge WSL survival battle facing Leicester City.
It is a challenge the England Women’s Under-17 boss is relishing with her secondment underway at the club who are bottom of the table.
This week Bedford, 34, who is making her first foray into club management, started her new job as Foxes first team manager at Leicester’s Belvoir Drive training ground.
The facility – one of the most hi-tech in the women’s game – was occupied by the club’s men side for 56 years before their move to a £100million complex in Seagrave.
The new boss arrives with the team, who face a daunting trip to Arsenal, without a point from eight games in the top tier.
Bedford said: “I think you have to be realistic. We are at the bottom of the table.
“But having watched their last two games against Everton and Brighton, the players showed real character.
“This gave me the confidence to think we have enough here.
“It’s my job to really spark that confidence and give them structure and an edge.”
The situation facing Leicester three months into their WSL debut term is in stark contrast to their red-hot streak in the Championship last season.
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Under former gaffer Jonathan Morgan, the club lost just TWO games in a storming 20-match run that saw them gain promotion to the top tier for the first time in their existence.
But it has been an entirely different story this term with Leicester becoming the third side in WSL history to lose their opening eight matches.
It is a run that led Foxes chiefs to drop the axe on Morgan’s reign.
But Bedford, who recently brought her adorable cockapoo Baxter with her to Belvoir Drive, is confident their current form can be reversed.
And the team had a boost from a Conti Cup penalty shootout triumph over Manchester United with the Foxes winning 4-3 via the spot-kicks.
I look at what Hope (Powell) has done at Brighton, and she’s been given time and she’s grown it gradually
Lydia Bedford
“It was brilliant for the girls, and they really deserved it. It’s been coming in the games that I’ve watched up to this point,” she added.
“They were resilient in their performance and the way that they set up really frustrated Man United.”
Bedford, who has been working for the FA since 2014, obtained her Uefa pro coaching licence in 2019.
The coach will have Brent Hills in the Foxes dugout as her number two.
Hills brings 11 years’ worth of experience as an England senior women’s team assistant stint.
Bedford is also taking some inspiration from another top-flight boss with Lionesses expertise who led her side to WSL promotion.
The Foxes chief said: “I look at what Hope [Powell] has done at Brighton, and she’s been given time and she’s grown it gradually.
“But she’s been chipping away over three, four seasons to get where they are now where they’re competing with some really good results in the WSL.
The transfer window opens in January so that’s when we can be active, but I don’t want to make any rash decisions
Lydia Bedford
“When I spoke to the club it felt like a very similar project with a real long-term desire for this women’s team to be competing in the WSL.
“It’s not just about stopping us from getting relegated but then bumbling around the bottom three for the next three or four years.
“It’s about the women’s team progressing and moving up the table and that excites me.”
Bedford’s approach to coaching is themed around a motto she describes as ‘our goal, your role, and team first.’
And one little adjustment introduced includes encouraging the players to have half an hour of breakfast together.
But the Foxes chief will not be making hasty choices when it comes to the squad. This includes any ‘rash’ January transfer moves.
Bedford added: “My first priority over the next few weeks is to assess where the squad is at.
“The transfer window opens in January so that’s when we can be active, but I don’t want to make rash decisions.
“I want the players to have the opportunity to show us what they’re about.”