Aberdeen Women co-boss Emma Hunter has heaped praise on five young players who have made the step up from the youth team to the senior squad.
Madison Finnie, Brodie Greenwood, Annalisa McCann, Millie Urquhart and Mya Christie will be part of the Dons first team next season.
All five players were involved with the squad in some capacity last season – either on the bench or in training – while Urquhart and Christie both made their SWPL 1 debuts.
Urquhart played in two league games, against Hibernian and Glasgow City, while Christie made three appearances, scoring once against Partick Thistle.
Hunter has been impressed with the quality the young Dons have brought to the squad in training and recent pre-season friendlies.
She said: “They’re absolutely thriving and the reason is because they’re very talented players – they have come in and not looked out of sorts.
“They’ve had international experience and we introduced them to our training last season, so we’ve put in a long-term strategy so they can hit the ground running.
Delighted to make my debut today. Huge thanks to all the girls for making me feel so welcome ❤️ https://t.co/MgYWhwU4gQ
— millie urquhart (@UrquhartMillie) May 8, 2022
“Having the young players and their determination to try and break into the squad has really influenced others and the intensity of training has really increased.
“There is going to be more competition for places. We seen it after the friendly against Hamilton – it’s going to be much harder to pick our starting XI.
“These players are really determined to be successful footballers and want a career in football. They’re pushing the boundaries all the time, it’s really exciting.”
A quality young squad with promising futures
Hunter believes that, although Aberdeen is a young team, it does not mean they’re lacking quality, which she reckons all the youngsters in the squad prove.
She added: “When people talk about Aberdeen Women, they speak about us being a young team – but we’re actually a really good young team.
“This season we’re even younger, but I would say we’re even more promising.
“We’re not just thinking about the next season, but the next three or four years so we can be sustainable and keep competing in the top half of SWPL 1.
“The players who have moved up this season are in the same position Jess Broadrick, Eva Thomson and Bayley Hutchison were in a few years ago.
“You can see now how much those three – to name a few – have improved and how much they’ve grown to become a really important part of Aberdeen.
“I think it’s important that we keep doing that with all our young players at Aberdeen.”