Caldwell: This squad has high ambitions

Friday 11 March 2022 12:58

Manchester United Women’s defender Diane Caldwell says that she has had an enjoyable first few months at the club and has integrated into a squad with “a lot of good energy and high ambitions”.

The Republic of Ireland international was one of three January signings that joined Marc Skinner’s side and she has since been learning more and more about the environment here as she’s been settling in.

Prior to our next outing away to Reading in Saturday’s 11:30 GMT kick-off in the WSL, we caught up with Diane for the first time since her initial signing interview at the start of the calendar year.

As a United fan herself, you would imagine that our no.15 naturally feels comfortable in her new surroundings, but the centre-back says that her new team-mates have also played their part in making her feel welcome. 
Catching up with Diane Video

Catching up with Diane

Our January signing tells us how she's settling into life at United and what we're expecting next up at Reading...

“I’m starting to feel more settled and at home now, obviously as time goes on, you start to feel a bit more at ease and settled around the team and the girls,” Diane explained. 

“As soon as I came in here, you could automatically sense that there was a really good buzz in the team, very good environment, good energy.

“And again, it’s because of the situation the girls have put themselves in from the hard work they did in the first half of the season and now we’re in a position where we can achieve a really high position in the league. 

“It’s a lot of good energy and high ambitions.”

The 33-year-old has started and played every minute of our last four matches, three of which have been in the WSL, giving her a good early sample size to compare the division’s quality to other leagues that she has played in already in her career. 

So, what has she made of the women’s top flight in this country so far?

“It’s a super high level and I think the last couple of seasons it’s really transcended in its level,” Caldwell said.

“I’ve played in America and Germany [that are] again really high-quality leagues but here it’s a little bit of everything I feel like. 

"It’s not just one specific strength, a lot of different concepts come into it. It’s very high level technically, to fitness, strength, the speed of play is very high, so it’s strong in many areas.”

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Having already faced Arsenal, Manchester City and most recently Leicester City, another tough test awaits Diane and co this weekend in the competition. 

It comes in the form of a Reading side who had previously gone on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league, prior to two defeats and a draw in their last three outings. Despite that, the defender knows that we will have to be at our best to take all three points on Saturday.

“[We’re expecting] a really, really tough game. Reading have been really solid and consistent throughout the season, so we’re under no illusions as to what we’re going to face. 

“It’s going to be a really tough test and I think we’ve prepared thoroughly for what we’re going to face on Saturday.”

Tickets for Manchester United Women’s WSL game against Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday 27 March are on sale now and you can secure yours now by clicking here.

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