Sheffield United defender Molly Graham says that new head coach Ash Thompson is deserving of his opportunity to lead the team.
Thompson was appointed The Blades’ new permanent head coach in July off the back of his excellent work with the club’s Under-21s.
This season will see Thompson move into senior coaching for the first time and defender Graham says that her new boss thoroughly deserves his promotion given the results that he has consistently produced at Under-21 level.
“Definitely [deserves the job], he’s worked so hard with the Under-21s,” Graham said when speaking in a Barclays Women’s Championship media event. “He goes into real detail to make sure everyone knows their role, everyone knows their job.
“He’s done such a good job with developing players. Other players like Eva [Butler] and Tilly [Bristow] that have been in the first team squad; it’s a testament to him for the way that he’s run the Under-21s having players keep coming through to the first team.”
Graham says that Thompson’s appointment is a positive for her own development and she believes that he will bring his own clear identity to the team.
She said “He brings a lot of detail in his coaching and he obviously knows me as a player and I know him as a coach. It’s positive for me because I know how he works and I know how much of a passion he has for getting the details right and getting messages across to us players. I feel like he can stamp his mark on how he wants us to play and perform this season.”
Sheffield United have led the way when it comes to offering first team opportunities to young players in recent seasons and that trend is likely to continue in Thompson’s tenure. Graham highlighted the importance of Sheffield United’s pathway and hailed the club for their continued commitment to developing their own players.
“It’s hugely important for the academy, through the Under-21s and into the first team,” Graham said when commenting on the Sheffield United pathway. “If your team’s not producing players that they can keep, something’s not going right.
“It’s so important to have a pathway for the girls coming through the academy. It’s great that the club have always found it important to progress young players.”
Since breaking through to the first team in the second half of the 2022/2023 season, Graham has been a solid performer for Sheffield United. The player’s personal goal for the coming season is to simply play more minutes and further cement her place in the side.
She said “I want to keep building. I want to keep building minutes, getting more game time and put my mark on the team. Last season, we didn’t get too many clean sheets, so I want to build on that.
“I just want to keep developing myself as a player and a person and keep pushing the team up the league.”
Sheffield United kick-off the 2024/2025 Barclays Women’s Championship season with a fixture at Durham next Sunday.
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