Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says the fact that her side have picked up medals this season proves that the club have enjoyed a successful campaign.
The Blues retained the Barclays FA Women’s Super League title and the FA Women’s Continental League Cup while they reached a first UEFA Women’s Champions League final. They also won the FA Women’s Community Shield and kept their dreams of a domestic treble alive with a 3-0 Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round victory over Everton at Kingsmeadow this evening.
Reflecting on the season, Chelsea boss Hayes said that her team have won medals which is what the job is all about.
“Our job is to win medals and we have done that,” Hayes said when speaking in the post-match press conference in which FAWSL Full-Time were present. “That is what I say to my whole group.
“Nothing stays the same, it’ll be a new season again next year. Clean slates for everyone and they have to be ready for pre-season to put the shifts in that I expect.”
Hayes went on to say that while the club have written a new chapter to their history this year, the challenge is to continue to raise the bar again next season.
She added “I have always said that while I am in this job, that is always the objective (to raise the bar). It doesn’t mean that you are going to win all of the time but plateauing is something that you have to consider how you get out of that state all of the time and that is something that I have worked hard on in my own career to find the solutions for those things.”
Discussing tonight’s victory, Hayes said that she was pleased to be able to rotate her side and still get the highest level of performance from the team in a game which came just four days after the 4-0 UEFA Women’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona in Gothenburg.
“That was our 25th clean sheet, what a great group,” Hayes said.
“Sunday hurt but we didn’t hide that. There’s no shame to have a silver medal from a Champions League final, I don’t know many players that have one, especially in teams in this country. It is a beautiful medal and it is a stark reminder that to go from silver to gold you have to find something else from within yourself, that’s the challenge.
“When we came into the game tonight, I wanted to see Chelsea Women at it’s best and no matter who I pick I can get a performance like I do.
“It’s a fabulous achievement from the players, they deserve every bit of credit that they’ve gained this year.”
Chelsea will learn of their Vitality Women’s FA Cup quarter-final opponents when the draw is conducted in eight days’ time.
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