Durham defender Abby Holmes says that the club are aiming for a solid start to the season after a transitional campaign in 2022/2023.
The Wildcats turned full-time last summer and that presented various challenges throughout the 2022/2023 campaign. Durham struggled for consistency in the first half of the season before finding their feet as the campaign went on.
Durham begin the new Barclays Women’s Championship season with a fixture at newly-promoted Watford on Sunday and defender Holmes says that the club are aiming to start as they mean to go on.
“I’ve played in this league for many years and every game is tough,” Holmes said when speaking exclusively to FAWSL Full-Time. “We have got to go there and put our own stamp on it and play to our strengths.
“We want to hopefully come away with the three points. We want to start off on the front foot, we want to start how we mean to go on. Let’s hope we can start off really positively, really strong and come away with the win.”
While many clubs have made wholesale changes to their squads over the summer, Durham have brought in just three new faces. Holmes believes that consistency in personnel could be an important factor this season.
She said “It’s massive. I know that last year was a transition period and we are probably still in it given the fact that we have made a couple more signings for this season.
“Knowing how everyone plays, the togetherness and that family environment has got to help. Hopefully, I can help build on the foundations from last year and we can push on towards the top of the league.”
Togetherness is what Durham are all about. While the team are a tight-knit unit, their fanbase are loyal and growing in numbers with every season. Holmes continues to be amazed by Durham’s fanatical fans who follow the club across the country and beyond.
“The fans follow us everywhere, they even came up to Glasgow City for a pre-season friendly,” Holmes said.
“It is amazing to have that support. They are so loyal and it is amazing just how far they will travel. Having their support means a lot and it is amazing that we have sold a lot of season tickets this year.
“Hopefully, the more entertaining football we can play and positive results we can have, the more people will come to watch us. Given what the Lionesses achieved at the World Cup too, it can only be onwards and upwards for women’s football.”
Durham’s Barclays Women’s Championship fixture at Watford kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon.
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