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Saturday was all about Remi Allen at London City Lionesses, with the former Aston Villa and Birmingham City midfielder delivering her first training session as a head coach.
After a full day of meetings, Allen sat down with our media team for an exclusive interview, covering her shift into coaching, aspirations for the rest of the season, and more.
Here is every word the 33-year-old said on the eve of her managerial debut.
You're back from your first session at K Sports, how have you found your opening day?
It's been extremely busy, there's obviously lots going on, but it's been good to get in, see training, and speak to the players. It'll take a few days to settle in, but it's been really positive and I'm excited to be here.
It must be quite a big transition for you personally, having combined coaching and playing at Birmingham City previously. What made you make the jump to this role now?
I think timing is everything. Where I was at with my football and knowing that I was coming to the end of my playing career, this opportunity came along and it was too good to turn down.
I was like 'wow'. This Club, and where it wants to go, is hugely impressively and it is great to be able to join the project. I know that we aren't where we want to be in the table, but it's an amazing opportunity for me to come in and try to impact that.
You're still at the very start of your managerial career, can you talk us through your previous experiences?
I've always coached whilst I was playing. I've also worked within the RTCs [Regional Talent Centres] of the Clubs that I have played for, covering all of the possible age groups. I've put the work in behind the scenes and have all of my coaching badges.
In October, the opportunity to work with England Women's Under-23s came up and I have to say that the value of that experience has been incredible. Everything that I've taken from it will put me in good stead for the future.
Linking with Birmingham City, they were excellent as well and helped me move into coaching and analysis. I've taken an all-rounded approach to prepare myself for the next step, which has come pretty soon.
Looking ahead, what are your expectations and aspirations for the final six games of the season?
The priority is to absolutely come away from the bottom two, that's first and foremost. As you say, we've only got six games to go, which isn't very long at all. We need to get points on the board quickly and start moving away from the relegation battle as soon as possible.
You've only been here a very shot amount of time, but what are your thoughts ahead of the Reading match?
Obviously, I've only come in the day before, but the team and the staff have been fantastic in terms of how they have been preparing for the game. I watched training today and was impressed with lots of stuff out there. It's going to be a tough game, which will ultimately be decided based on who has more quality.
Watching what I saw today, I believe that we have it. It'll be a very difficult test, but having sat with the staff who have prepared for it, I feel that we're ready. I'm excited.
What was your perception of London City from the outside?
From the outside, looking at the names in the squad and the level of experience here, you ask the question 'how are they in this position?' and that's something that I'll ask the players.
We have more than enough. I look at the group and I see experience, character, resilience, talent, and youth. It's now about putting that together and grinding out some performances and points for the next six games. We just need to get on the training pitch and do the work.
Lastly, I know that you're working on a super short timeline, but what's your philosophy as a coach and how do you see us playing under your direction?
It's difficult because I'm coming in and there's only eight weeks left in the season, including an international break. There's not a lot of time to invent everything that I want to do. But I do want us to be more aggressive out of possession because I think we can win the ball higher up the pitch than we have previously.
We have good footballers who can play and I want us to play. I want us to play, I want us to build, and I want to see opposite movements and rotations. Again, that'll take time and we might not see the full potential of that in the next six games.
But my priority is to make us difficult to beat, aggressive, and horrible to play against because we need to use our experience to grind out these results.
We return to Princes Park on Sunday, 17 March. Don't miss it.
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