Aberdeen Women co-boss Emma Hunter is delighted her squad will be able to make use of a full pre-season ahead of their next SWPL 1 campaign.
The Dons will benefit from more time between seasons than they did last year, as there was only five weeks between them winning SWPL 2 and the start of the 2021/22 campaign.
The SWPL 2 season ended two months later than scheduled after Covid-19 postponed all fixtures for six months. Teams played the backlog of games in a four-week period between June and July 2021.
Hunter says the quick turnaround between seasons, combined with Covid restrictions, affected preparations for life in the top-flight, so is glad that Aberdeen will have more time to ‘bond’ as a team ahead of the new campaign.
She said: “It highlights how well we’ve done SWPL 1. We came up to the league with literally no ability to meet or discuss how we wanted to face the top-flight.
“Obviously we did things online but that becomes monotonous and people lose interest in it after a while.
“To be able to achieve what we’ve done in the situation we’ve had to do it – it’s unbelievable.
“We’ve had a season in SWPL 1 – a really tough and challenging season, not just for us, but for everyone – and next season is an opportunity to do it properly.
“I’m really excited for that. Having a really good pre-season where we can sit in a room together and bond as a team, it’s those things you really need to do.
“A lot of it will be spending the day together and going to Cormack Park, doing multiple sessions, having lunch together and having meetings as a squad.
“Just being able to have face-to-face chats and build those relationships, I think it will make a huge difference.”
An opportunity to find Aberdeen Women’s identity
The Dons co-boss believes that last season was an opportunity to test where they were at against top-flight opposition, but wants to adopt a more specific style next term.
She hopes that a full pre-season working on different formations and tactics should see Aberdeen play with more of an identity.
Hunter said: “We really want to hone in on who we are as Aberdeen FC Women in SWPL 1.
“I think that’s probably why we had such different performances last season because we tried lots of different things and that is what we wanted to do.
“But next season gives us a real opportunity to hone in on it and try and work on something specific that we feel like we’ve got the squad to deliver.
“We’ll think about formations that we can really stick to so they feel lthey have got structure and better connections with each other.
“It’s about making sure that when we go into next season, they 100 per cent know their role on the pitch.
“We’re hoping next season is an opportunity to write our own story.”